Near To You
by the fourth drink instinct
Summary: "I've lived the past seven years without you and as selfish as it is I wont do it anymore." He told her, earnestly. "I can't."
1. Chapter 1

**Piglet;** how do you spell love?  
**Pooh;** you don't spell love Piglet. You _feel_ it.

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**Summary;** Nathan's life is filled with nothing and he realises the only person who truly ever liked him for him. _Loved_ him. He left behind. Like she was nothing. And all because he was scared. Scared of the way she made him feel. On the other hand she got her life together, has a high flying career and is engaged to be married. Nathan makes it his mission to get her back, but can he win her heart back and prove he's changed?

* * *

"_... __Goodbye, my almost lover  
goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
can't you just let me be?_

_so long, my luckless romance  
my back is turned on you  
I should've known you'd bring me heartache  
almost lovers always do…__"_

She let the last note fade out and then sent the crowd a huge smile. "We love you, New York! Thanks for having us." She was met with a roar of cheers as she ran off stage.

"Great set, Haley." Someone said, handing her a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Grant." She returned, quickly manoeuvring her way through the hundreds of people back-stage, sighing in relief when she got inside her dressing room.

Just as the door closed with a _click_ her phone beeped, just like it did every other night. She felt a giddy feeling in her stomach as she answered it.

"_How awesome was my girl."_

"Depends, how many more girls you got?"

He chuckled, a deep throaty sound that sent a shiver down her spine. _"You're the only one I need."_

She pursed her lips, sitting down at her vanity desk and she turned away from her reflection. "Good answer."

"So I was thinking, tomorrow night. You, me and that Italian restaurant you love."

She smiled, pressing the phone closer to the side of her face, wishing it was his stubbled cheek instead. "Well, that sounds perfect. Except for the teeny tiny fact that I am in New York, while you, my annoyingly successful boyfriend, are in New Zealand."

"_Well it's a good thing I'm at the airport right now, then, huh?"_

She let out a happy laugh and grinned into the speaker. "I'm staying at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, I'll send you directions."

She could feel his boyish grin through the phone. _"Okay. Be ready tomorrow night for eight, and I shall sweep you off your feet Miss James."_

She laughed. "I can't wait." Before hanging up. Despite the grand gestures she knew he would have waiting for her tomorrow night Haley couldn't help but think she would be just as happy staying in her ridiculously posh hotel room that she was paying through the nose for and watch a movie and order take-in.

"Miss James?" A voice chirped along with a sharp rap at the door. "There's someone here to see you."

Her thoughts instantly forgotten she wondered for a split second if he had lied to her and instead of having to watch her concert on TV he had been in the crowd.

"Send them in." She called back, feeling excitement bubble in her stomach. It had been eight _long_ weeks since she had last seen her gorgeous boyfriend.

There was the sound of shuffling as her assistant scuttled off and the door swung open.

She wondered for a second how she was still standing as her heart had just stopped in her chest.

He stood tall and his eyes immediately caught her attention, just as they had years ago. The sapphire blue didn't hold the same mischievous sparkle it used to.

She found her voice, hoping it sounded stronger than she felt. "What are you doing here?"

His gaze was so intense it almost melted through the icy exterior she sported. "I made a mistake, Haley."

She let out a disbelieving scoff, feeling the anger she had repressed since she was seventeen running through her veins. "You're a little late, Nathan. Six years too late."

* * *

_**Six years previous.-  
**_

.&&.

"Hey."

The girl didn't lift her head from the worn paperback she had pressed against her face and he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me."

She lifted her head and with a quick glance around the tutor centre realised she was the only one left. "Are you talking to me?"

She guessed he was by the _'are you retarded?' _expression on his face.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Haley James?"

She nodded, her paperback forgotten on the tabletop.

"Well then, yes." He returned, the same bored tone in his voice. "You're my new tutor." He handed her the blue slip he'd gotten from the office.

She nodded slowly, pursing her lips. "Okay."

He raised his eyebrows, half expecting her to have some sort of reaction.

"Do you want to start now?" She asked, motioning towards the seat across from her.

"Em." He scratched the back of his neck. "Sure." He shrugged off his backpack and it dropped with a _thud_ onto the dull grey carpet.

"I'm Haley." She introduced, even though he already knew. "And you are?"

He looked slightly taken back until an amused smirk creased the side of his face. "You don't know who I am?"

"Should I?" She questioned back, getting a pad of paper and a pen from her bag.

He pointed to the jersey he wore, the number '23' displayed clearly in blue on the front.

"You're on the basketball team?" She guessed, wondering if it was too late to tell him she couldn't tutor him.

He watched her face for a second, looking for any hint of joking and when all he saw was confusion he let out a booming laugh.

"I'm Nathan Scott." He grinned a grin she was sure got him a lot of things over the years.

"Good for you." Sarcasm dripped from her words. "Now, what are you struggling with?"

As he handed her his History notes he couldn't help but look her over. He'd never seen her before.

"You honestly don't know who I am."

Haley sighed, her eyes scanning over his notes - what she could make out, anyway. "Well I'm starting to think I should." She quipped.

"Have you never seen a Ravens basketball game?"

"Don't like basketball." She replied, lifting her eyes from the crumpled paper she held in her hand before placing it onto the cracked tabletop.

He watched as she pulled her hair into a messy bun. "You live in Tree Hill, a town that lives and breathes basketball, and you don't like it."

She shook her head, giving him a _'could you please, shut up' _smile. "Take out your books."

"I'm the point guard." He explained, doing as she said.

"I guess that means you're on the team?" She furrowed her brow, not knowing a thing about the game.

Yet another booming laugh echoed around the small room.

"Can we please just get started?" She asked and flipped his book to the correct page before turning it to face him. "Page 81..."

**.**

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**.**

"... and he just acted as if it was a crime that I didn't know who he was." Haley re-told the story of what happened a mere hour before.

"Well, you kind of should." Brooke Davis replied, earning herself a smack on the arm.

"You would think he was God or something."

"At Tree Hill High, he _is_. Jeez Hales, you'd think you lived in a hole or something." The brunette let out an exasperated sigh at the blank look she received. "He's Captain of the Ravens, extremely popular and hot as holy hell."

"He's also a complete ass-wipe."

Brooke shrugged, pressing the '_stop_' button as they reached their destination. "The things people will look over when you look like that."

Haley rolled her eyes with a laugh before pushing the hazel-eyed girl forward and they both stumbled off the bus.

"Just be careful, _Tutor Girl_." She teased, walking up the path to her house while Haley continued to mosey along the sidewalk. "Don't let him charm his way into your pantaloons."

Haley flipped the taller girl off as she laughed her way onto her porch. "Like that would _ever_ happen."

**_._**

**_#&&#_**

**_._**

He was late.

She looked at her watch again for the tenth time in the last fifty seconds. _One more minute_, she swore and then she was leaving.

Just as she had stuffed her notepad into her already full bag she heard heavy footsteps thumping quickly towards her.

"Sorry." He panted, gripping at the burning stitch in his side.

"You're late." Haley pointed out, crossing her hands over her chest. "Fifteen minutes late."

His blue eyes met her pissed off brown ones and he shrugged. "I said I was sorry."

Haley rolled her eyes, a scoff escaping from her throat. "Unbelievable. I am taking time out of _my_ life to help you. The _least_ you can do is show up on time." She bitched, re-taking her seat at the old bench.

Nathan watched as with jerky movements she took out all the stuff she had put into her bag mere seconds before. "What crawled up your ass and died."

Haley's eyes snapped up to meet his and he was taken back by the anger he found staring back at him and then she was holding up a book. "Do you see this book? Because this book is me. I am math."

His brow creased as he stood in front of her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you can work your whole 'I'm Nathan Scott. Mr. Big Shot. Scoring my touchdowns' on someone else because I-'"

"-I don't even play football." He interrupted, confusion clear in his tone.

"Whatever. The point is at the end of the day, all your bluster and BS don't mean anything to math because math don't care. And neither do I." She finished, slamming the book back onto the table. "You're status or whatever in school might make people look past the stuff you do but I'm not about to let you off the hook just because you're _Nathan Scott_." He was sure she was mocking him. "Especially when I'm beginning to think that you're full of shi-" She stopped herself, sighing. "Let's just get started."

He smirked as her rant ended, he had never had someone bitch him out the way she just had. He was - as she said, _Nathan Scott_, no one talked to him like that.

"Are you just going to stand there all day or actually let me _try_ to teach you something?"

Obviously Haley James didn't care.

He sat down opposite the feisty brunette and listened as she started to speak about ancient History. Half way through the tutoring session Nathan found himself looking up from the worksheet she had told him to work on and watching her. Her chin was resting on her hand, the water that she was looking out into reflecting back into her deep brown eyes and she was such a contrast to the girl who a mere thirty minutes earlier was calling him out on his shit. As he stared he tried to figure her out, this girl completely different to anything else he had ever known.

But years later he would realise it was easier said than done.

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**O**kay, I know it's probably a little confusing but everything will be explained, quite a lot of it in the next chapter LOL. I wrote this for **kaya17tj** and I _really_ hope you liked it!

Oh and I do not own the lyrics used at the start of the chapter they belong to A _Fine Frenzy _and I also stole a few lines from OTH, hope you don't mind Mark(:

and the next few chapters are going to be a lot longer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Logan; **I thought our story was epic, you know?

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Swiping the thin brush over her closed lid again Haley sat back, admiring her handy-work in the mirror and finally satisfied with her dark green eye shadow she leaned back in her chair.

_Do not think about him. Do not think about him. Do not-_

But it was too late. He had been running through her mind ever since she had stormed out of her dressing room, ignoring his protests and his deep voice as he apologised, begged her to listen-which had shocked her, Nathan was never one to beg. But she had walked past him, her black high heels clacking on the hard floor as she threw over her shoulder _'I have an encore to do'_ and then she was back on stage. Letting the crowds screams take over the sound of her heart been ripped from her chest all over again. But this time it was her who was the one walking away.

When she had started tutoring Nathan Scott it was simply that; tutoring Nathan Scott. He wasn't anything special to her, even though to most of the school he was God reincarnated in basketball player form. But as the weeks went on and he realised she wasn't going to take any of his bull he became less of the guy everyone seemed to think he was and more of the guy she started to see that he _was_. To her, he was just Nathan, the boy who loved the paper route he had when he was a kid, hated away games because that meant he had to leave his beloved labrador with his dad, loved frappuccino's even though he thought it was a girls drink and hated yellow Skittles.

And as she learned more about him the more she found herself wanting to rip apart the façade he had grown accustomed, the part he seemed to think he had to play in the 'elite' crowd.

She found that he was just as human as everyone else.

..

"_And that makes three tutoring sessions in a row you've been on time for." A fresh faced Haley smiled teasingly. "I'm almost impressed." When she merely received silence in return instead of his usual sarcastic response-Nathan Scott did sarcasm, who knew? - she looked up from the mock test she was marking. "What crawled up your ass and died?" She repeated those same words he had to her at their first session four weeks ago - and he still wondered why she hadn't jumped at the chance to tutor him?_

"_Are we going to talk or are you going to teach me something?" He asked more harshly than he had intended._

_She let her eyes fall on the angry set of his jaw - she was used to being the bitchy one. "What happened? Straightness not working?" His usual gelled to perfection locks were sticking up in fluffy tuffs. She liked it. It was more… _real_._

_He jerked a couple of his books from his backpack, letting them fall noisily onto the wooden table-top, ignoring her gaze as he felt it searching his face, she always seemed to be doing that. As if she was looking for someone else as she looked at him. But lately it was less searching and more… wondering. He kind of liked it._

_Looking up, his cold blue eyes met her huge brown ones and he found the hard set of his jaw lessening as she blinked back at him._

"_That's new." She commented as she finally saw his face for the first time fully since he had sat down. _

_He almost looked away. Almost. "Turns out I'm more of a klutz than you."_

_Ignoring the jab at her co-ordination skills - or lack there of, she continued to stare at the purplish swelling on his cheek bone. "Trip over a basketball?" _

_He chuckled and realised in these past few weeks he had smiled and laughed more than he ever had in his entire life. Ever. "Something like that."_

_She nodded, twisting her lips to stop herself from asking anything more and slapped her hand down on the English book between them. "I think we left off on page 42..."_

_._

_._

"_I got into a fight with my dad."_

_Haley looked up, surprised at his sudden voice. "Huh?"_

_Nathan smiled uneasily, though he tried not to show it. It unnerved him, how she made him want to spill his deepest and darkest without even speaking. "This morning, I got into a big argument with my dad about basketball. He was talking about me being a fish and something about pig and small ponds and how I could be better if I just worked harder and I lost it." He chuckled darkly, looking down at his fingers as he picked out a splint of wood from the table. "I was going on about how he was trying to live vicariously through me because he had never made anything of his own life and then he - well, I guess the huge shiner on my face speaks for itself."_

"_It's not that big." Haley replied after a moments silence. Despite having him open up slightly over the past few weeks she had never expected him to talk about something so personal. "And _vicariously_, I am definitely impressed." She grinned, happy as he chuckled, the tension seeming to physically lift off his shoulders. "And I can fix that." She announced, pulling something from her old ratty bag before getting up and plonking down beside him on the small bench, ignoring the fact that her hip bone was pressed into his thigh. _

"_What are you doing?" He asked, feeling a little light-headed as her perfume wafted around him._

"_Helping you." She replied, pressing the sponge gently to his bruised flesh, watching his face wince slightly. "Do you want to go to school and have everyone asking you tons of questions?"_

_Nathan sighed as he let her put concealer on his skin, he could have told her that he would have simply lied and made up some story, but he was tired of the lying and the stories. And she seemed to know that. And thought he didn't want to admit it, that scared him. _

"_Do you fight with your dad a lot?" She asked, softly. Not judging, not poking her nose into his business. Simply asking, letting him get it off his chest if he wanted. _

_Haley James may have just been his saving grace._

_He shrugged. "Sometimes." Flinching away from her hand as she pressed down too hard on his cheek. "I mean, we yell and shout and stuff but it's never gotten violent before."_

_She nodded, her fingertips burning with a desire to stroke his tired face. "I fight with my mom a lot." She admitted, her eyes never leaving his bruised skin. "My dad left when I was young and he got re-married, it kind of tore us apart a little." She declared, as if they were talking about the weather. _

_He felt the rectangular sponge move away from his face and his eyelids felt heavy as her fingers replaced it, his eyes closing._

_She tried to stop herself but she couldn't, simply let the tips of her fingers run down his cheek bone to the slight dip underneath to his strong jaw. _

"_Why did you tell me that?" _

_Her heart lurched in her chest as she found his piercing eyes staring intently into her own. _

"_Probably the same reason you told me about your dad."_

_He nodded; she had no idea why, just like him. _

_She finally realised that she was sitting down at the dock, her side pressed into Nathan Scott's chest as her fingers strayed along his neck, after having just put make-up on his bruised face. Quickly she pulled her hand away and as she went to stand up, get away from the scent of him that was making her feel dizzy he gripped her wrist in his fist._

"_Come to the game tonight."_

_She looked over her shoulder from the half crouch half standing up position her body had taken._

"_Please?" He tried, the word foreign to his tongue._

_She wanted to laugh, wondering if he had ever had to ask for anything in his life. "Get more than an 80 on your History quiz today and I'll think about it."_

_He smirked, letting her move back to her side of the table. "How about if I get more than an 85 you come to the after party?"_

_She met his daring blue eyes and found her lips moving before she could even think. "More than 87 and I'll go."_

_._

_._

_._

Jarred from her thoughts by a sharp rap at her hotel door Haley shook her head, her natural waves moving with the movement.

She wanted to laugh as she got up from her chair and made her way across the bedroom; he had gotten a 91 on that test.

Removing any thoughts about him from her mind she smoothed out the front of her dress before putting on her best smile as she opened the door and for the second time in two days was not met with the deep green eyes of her boyfriend but the pale blue ones of his driver.

"Miss James." The man smiled. "I'm here to pick you up."

Despite her slight disappointment she smiled at the man with greying hair. "Hi Rupert."

"He sends his sincerest apologies." The older man replied, waiting for the young girl to lock up her room before taking her arm and leading her down the large hallway.

"As he always does." She smiled back, letting him lead her down the marble steps and out into the cold night air.

"He has reserved your favourite table and promises to be there no later than eight thirty."

She nodded and just as she went to step into the limo she found her eyes wandering back over her shoulder, down the darkening sidewalk, masses of people still bustling about outside the large hotel.

"Miss James?" Rupert asked again, despite her always telling him that her name was _Haley_.

She ignored the heat that was burning up her spine and got inside the door he was holding open for her, her bare legs sticking slightly to the leather underneath her and she jumped a little as it slammed shut beside her.

.

.

.

"Excuse me?" Haley politely stopped a waiter as he rushed passed her table. "Can I have another?" She asked, her empty wine glass dangling between her fingertips.

"Of course." He returned with an Oscar-worthy smile and he was off again.

She sighed, leaning back in her wooden chair and she found herself reaching for another breadstick, nibbling on the end of it. Looking out the large window she watched the world walk by, the string lights that hung above the seating outside the restaurant seemingly unnoticed by them all.

She found herself caught up in the white and gold glow, not noticing her wine glass been re-filled, or the large body coming to stand behind her.

"Would you forgive me faster if I told you that you look absolutely stunning?"

Shocked at the sudden husky voice she quickly got over it as she felt a familiar pair of lips press against her earlobe.

"Absolutely stunning, huh?" She twirled the half-eaten breadstick on the chequered table-cloth as she smiled teasingly at him.

"As always." He grinned back, taking the seat opposite her.

She laughed, feeling completely at ease as he took her hand in his, thumb stroking across the back of it.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I had a meeting and it-"

She shook her head, cutting off anymore of his excuse. "Let's not talk about work. I haven't seen you in weeks and I kind of missed you, Dean Winchester."

He grinned at her declaration, his green eyes finding her large brown ones. "I missed you a ridiculous amount." He leaned over the table to press his lips to hers.

"Good answer. That was a test." She replied one he pulled back and he chuckled in return. "I guess I'm still marrying you." She jokingly rolled her eyes in annoyance, the large grin she wore giving her away.

"I love you, Haley James, you know that?"

She looked up at his face, his white teeth a stark contrast to his stubbled jaw, his fingers toying with the beautiful white-gold engagement ring on her finger and she smiled back softly and she knew he meant it.

.

.

.

"…and the _whole_ crowed was on their feet." Haley finished, smiling wistfully as she remembered the feeling of been on stage, the music pumping through her veins as she sang her heart out. "I've never known a feeling like that in my life."

"Adoration?" Dean asked, his hand rubbing lowly on the base of her back as they walked along the streets of NYC.

She wanted to nod _yes_ when suddenly a pair of blue eyes flashed into her mind and she almost had to stop and catch her breath.

"Well, then I must be doing something wrong." Dean announced, pulling her closer into his side as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was muffled as her face was pressed into the white shirt he was wearing.

"Nothing." He returned, letting his hand continue it's journey over her backside. "I just don't want you feeling neglected. _Un_-adored."

She laughed, smacking at his shoulder as he winked teasingly at her, squeezing her butt as she pulled him along the streetlamp lit sidewalk.

"Indigo?" Her voice sounded sceptical as they stopped outside the nightclub - _the place to be_, apparently.

"Try to sound a little enthusiastic, babe." He suggested, nodding to the bouncers as they walked passed the mile long line outside, people protesting in indignation.

"I hate doing that." Haley reminded him.

"I know." He replied easily, flashing her a gorgeous grin, making his way through the grinding bodies, making sure he kept a hold on her the whole time.

"…and then I reminded her that she was fifty five, and she was probably born before Arbour Day." A raspy voice could be heard as the couple found their way to a booth hidden in the back of the club, the music a little less ear bleeding.

"Labour Day." A mans voice corrected, an adoring note to his tone.

"Dean?" Haley's questioning eyes turned onto the grinning twenty five year old beside her.

"You didn't really think I forgot did ya?" He asked, the faces that belonged to the voices finally being revealed. "Happy Birthday, baby."

She couldn't hide the shocked parting of her lips as he pressed a kiss to the side of her temple.

"Traitor Girl!" A voice squealed, quickly getting up from her seat and pulling the frozen girl into a hug.

Haley finally found her voice, laughing as she gripped tightly to the other brunette. "_Traitor_ Girl?"

Brooke shrugged, pulling back from her best friend but not completely letting her free from her arms. "That's what happens when you leave me all alone for the bright lights of New York."

Haley raised an eyebrow. "You moved to LA a few weeks ago."

Brooke simply grinned her dimpled grin. "I missed you, Hales." She whispered, pressing the former tutor against her chest again. "Happy Birthday."

Haley smiled softly into Brooke's shoulder, tightening her hold and she wanted nothing more than to pull her away from the club and go back to her hotel and just sit with her.

Brooke closed her eyes, something was wrong.

Pulling back and flashing the Fashion Designer a large smile she rolled her eyes at the brunettes questioning hazel eyes. She knew, she _always_ knew.

"I don't know about you man, but I'm feeling a little jealous."

Letting it go - for now, Brooke kept an arm around Haley's shoulders and turned back to face the table.

"As you should." The dressed to impress girl informed, but her smile was nothing but affection. "I was in love with Haley long before you." She let out a raspy laugh as the smaller girl simply leaned further into her side in response. "Hales, this is Julian Baker, part-time boyfriend and Julian this is Haley James, long-time best friend."

Julian rolled his eyes at his girlfriends dramatics while holding out a hand for Haley to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Haley smiled back, unclasping their hands as Dean pulled her down into the booth beside him. "You too." Ignoring Brooke's inquisitive eyes which she could feel studying her face she finally remembered the man beside her. "Oh, sorry. This is Dean Winchester."

Dean chuckled. "Her fiancé, and we've already met." He told her, gesturing towards the other man.

"He worked on one of the movies I was directing." Julian explained. "Pain in the ass."

Both girls laughed as the rugged boy gave him a glare in response.

"So what are you doing here?"

Brooke stopped her eyes from running over Haley's face and smiled into her large brown eyes. "Well, your soon-to-be hubby over there phoned me up and said he was having a party for you and well, never one to miss a party, I got on the first plane out."

"Dragging me along with her."

"Kicking and screaming." Brooke nodded in agreement with Julian, her hand resting comfortably on his thigh.

Haley smiled knowingly at the expression on Brooke's face before something clicked. "Party? Bu-"

Suddenly there was a loud shout of '_SURPRISE!'_ and faces she instantly recognised and quite a few she didn't came out from their hiding spots.

"I am going to kill you." Haley promised before she was taken away, submerged into the chaos.

.

.

.

Smiling at a couple as they walked by her, wishing her a _happy birthday _Haley then let out an inaudible sigh. She knew Dean meant well, but big parties weren't her thing. As boring as it was she would have rather have gone out to a club with a few friends, instead of having everyone here just for her. She just wasn't the girl who wanted to be centre of attention. She almost laughed at the ironic ness of that thought, she was a famous singer who didn't like people noticing her.

"Having fun?" Brooke asked, plopping down next to her friend and she gave a sympathetic smile, already knowing the answer.

"His heart was in the right place." Haley replied, finding said boy standing by the bar with Julian and a few other guys.

Brooke nodded, following her line of vision and was about to reply when she suddenly let out a quiet gasp.

"What?" Haley looked quickly at the brunette. "What's wrong?"

Without replying Brooke grabbed the singers hand and pulled her along side the bar before quickly opening the ladies' room door and pushing her inside.

"What the hell, Brooke?" Haley asked, stumbling slightly in her high heels. "Did you have a little _extra_ crazy for breakfast?"

After checking all the stalls were empty Brooke turned back to the small girl, even in high heels she still only reached Dean's shoulder. "You're not telling me something."

"What?" Haley laughed, not having a clue what she was talking about. Okay, maybe a little.

Brooke raised a recently plucked eyebrow. "You're blushing. And not once have I ever seen you do that since high school. Or when you're thinking of something you know you shouldn't be. Spill."

Haley opened her mouth to tell Brooke she was out of her mind but stopped herself. "Nathan's here."

"_What?_" She nearly screeched, ignoring the smaller girls gestures to shut up. "Where?"

"Not _here_." Haley explained. "In New York."

"How do you know?" Brooke asked, feeling the protectiveness she'd always felt for the other girl kicking in.

"I saw him yesterday." She admitted. "He was there after my show."

"Oh no." Brooke said, pissed. "No, no. _No_"

"Brooke-"

"What does he think he can do? Waltz back into your life after all these years?" She let out an angry breath. "What did he say?"

Haley sighed, not wanting to remember the way he looked at her. "That he made a mistake."

"Damn right he made a mistake." Brooke fumed, then noticing her friends expression her face softened slightly. "Do you believe him?" She couldn't help the disbelieving tone in her voice.

Haley turned to look in the mirror, pretending to fix her already perfect eye-liner. "It doesn't matter. He made his choice and now he has to live with it."

Brooke watched her movements, remembering the words she had told her years before. _'Don't let him charm his way into your pantaloons.' _Turns out it should have been her heart she had warned her friend to protect.

"It's kind of weird though, isn't it?" Brooke admitted, leaning against the marble sink. "Seven years ago tonight-"

"I know." Haley cut her off.

"At a party just like this one."

She looked back into the mirror, finding herself gazing into those blue eyes and remembered back to that night.

.

.

.

"_A 'Nathan Scott party.'" Brooke grinned. "Whoever thought _we_ would be going to one of those?"_

_Haley rolled her eyes but let her best friend have her moment while linking arms with her._

"_It's just a party."_

"_No. A party thrown by _Nathan Scott_." The brunette explained. "And I know, he's _just Nathan_ to you." She mocked in her best Tutor Girl voice. "But these parties are meant to be insane."_

_Hearing the music which had been playing faintly begin to get louder Haley thought they must be getting close. "He was pretty good tonight, huh?"_

_Brooke looked at her._

"_I mean the team." Haley corrected, not meeting the girls hazel stare. "The _team_ was really good."_

_Letting it go- for now, Brooke nodded as a whole crowd of people could be seeing gathered outside a large white house- correction; _mansion_. "We won, so, yeah."_

_Haley's laugh, along with Brooke's raspy one was lost in the pounding music booming from house. Squeezing passed the hoard of people outside they stepped inside, eyes widening at the bodies scattered everywhere; leaning against walls, dancing, passed out on the floor, making out on couches…_

"_Whoa." Brooke mumbled, covering up her shock and acting like she belonged she dragged Haley along, gripping tightly to her hand. She cut her eyes backwards as someone barged through their hold, glaring at the obviously drunk boys back. "Asshole!"_

"_Alexander, actually." _

_Both girls turned to find a lanky boy standing before them, his messy blonde hair falling into his grinning face._

"_Do you want to get a drink?" He asked, the side of his mouth lifting as he looked into the brunettes sparkling eyes. _

_Getting over her immediate shock of seeing this gorgeous boy in front of her, she sent him her best flirty grin. "Sure." And then she was following his broad back into the kitchen, making 'he is so HOT' faces over her shoulder, making Haley forget the fact that she had just been ditched alone at a party, where she knew no one. _

_But then the pair disappeared into the kitchen and the small girl looked around again, pulling her jacket tighter around her body. _Happy Birthday, Haley.

_Then her eyes were pulled in a different direction and there he was, just as good-looking as always. He was standing across the room, laughing with someone she recognised from the basketball game as another boy choked on a shot they had just done, the burning liquid coming out of his mouth and nose. _

_Haley found herself smiling at the way his nose crinkled when he laughed and then he was meeting her gaze. She felt her heart break at the smile that lit up his face upon seeing her. _

_Feeling a lot more confident than she ever had she took a step forward, only to have her way and view blocked by something large and green. _

"_Hey." A voice announced and she looked up, finding the green thing was in-fact the boy in front of hers t-shirt. "I'm Clay."_

_Haley smiled back at his large, friendly grin. "Haley."_

"_You were at the game earlier, right?" _

_She finally looked at him properly instead of trying to look around him, surprised. "Yeah. You were _in_ the game." She finally realised. "You were the… Point Guard?" She tried._

_He chuckled. "Centre."_

_She shrugged. "Close enough."_

"_Do you want to get a drink?"_

_She opened her mouth to answer when someone else appeared from behind Clay, making her heart flip in her chest. _

"_She's already got one." Nathan's hard edged voice announced, handing her a yellow cup filled with a liquid she didn't recognise._

_Feeling her cheeks burn she accepted the drink. "Thanks." She smiled. _

_He grinned at the flush that rose to her face before turning back to look at the other boy, standing beside Haley. "Good game tonight, Evans. That rebound you missed was just superb."_

_Clayton smirked at the protective edge to Nathan's voice, the jealousy clear on his face; never had he seen Scott get wound up over a girl before. "Nice meeting you Haley." He nodded, sending her that winning smile before glaring at Nathan, muttering _dickwipe_ as he walked past. _

"_That was mean." Haley announced, turning so she was facing the obviously pissed off boy beside her._

"_Hey, I'm a nice guy." He replied, the hard set to his jaw turning into that smile._

"_Oh, yeah. Everybody loves being around you for your winning personality." She quipped back. _

"_Did you just call me hot?" _

"_What?" She laughed. _

_Nathan smirked, finding it ridiculously sexy that she blushed just from that. "Well, everyone must hang around me for something other than my personality. Must be my good-looks."_

"_It's definitely not your modesty." She muttered, eyeing him over the rim of her cup as she took a sip of her unidentified drink._

"_You think I'm hot." He announced, pleased, after a few seconds of silence. _

"_Oh my god." She laughed incredulously. "That's a back-handed complement if I've ever heard one."_

_He shrugged, that goddamn smirk set like stone on his edible looking lips. "Want to get out of here?"_

_Haley looked up, surprised. "Wont your minions miss you?" She asked, nodding to the seemingly endless girls staring at him, they would probably kill to be in her position, Haley realised. _

_Nathan shrugged. "I really don't care." He told her before locking his fingers around her wrist but she realised years later that he wouldn't have had to, she would have followed him anyway. _

_._

_Stepping down into the large room Haley nodded, impressed. "Is your dad, like, a pimp?"_

_Nathan laughed, shutting the door behind them, the music still audible through the wood. "Nah, he just likes spending my mom's money." He replied, bending down to take out a couple bottles of Vodka from the cabinet. _

_Haley bit the inside of her lip when suddenly something barked at her from behind the large chair she was standing in front of. Almost falling over in fright Haley found a brown dog smiling back at her, it's tongue hanging out the side of its panting mouth. "Hi." She said, surprised when it immediately bounded over to her, inhaling her clothes. _

"_Duke, man." Nathan called, and she watched as the dog's head quickly turned in his direction. "She's way out of your league."_

_Duke's tail went crazy as Nathan spoke to him._

_Haley sent Nathan a look before bending down, scratching the brown Labradors fur. _

"_Duke?" She questioned, laughing as the dog licked at her face, thinking she was talking to him, as Nathan came over and sat down beside her on the floor. _

_Nathan nodded, poring some of the clear liquid into her now empty cup. "My dad named him when I was seven." He admitted, rubbing the old dog under his greying chin. "He had high expectations."_

"_He named him after Duke, the _college_?" She voiced her disbelief. "A lot to put on a seven year olds shoulders."_

"_That's my dad." He smiled bitterly, taking a big gulp of his own drink._

_She pressed her lips together as the room suddenly became silent, expect for the faint music and Duke's panting breath._

"_It's my birthday." She announced suddenly._

_Nathan's baby blues immediately looked at her to where she was looking down at Duke as she scratched the back of his ear. _

"_Sorry." She laughed. "I didn't expect you to say anything, I just hate when it's quiet."_

_He heard something else in her voice and that scared him. He wasn't supposed to know her well enough to be hearing underlying meaning in her words._

"_If it's your birthday why are you here?" He asked, feeling his stomach churn as her large brown eyes met his._

_She laughed without humour. "No one remembered." She shrugged. "Plus it's just the day I was born, what's so special about that?"_

_As he watched her rosy cheeks turn a little redder at his staring he decided it was very special. "I feel like a dick. I didn't even get you anything."_

"_You didn't know." She laughed-giggled, even._

_She would tell him about how she fought with her mam and her dad left when she was young but she never told him about her birthday? She was a riddle wrapped in a mystery. _

_Watching as she bit her bottom lip he suddenly wondered what it would feel like under his own teeth, and then he wasn't wondering as he pressed his lips to hers._

_Haley's eyes widened as his nose bumped hers but then she felt his soft mouth on her own and she was pushing back against him. _

_Pulling back, still close enough to feel her breath on his face Nathan smiled-not his usual smirk, but a full blown knee weakening heartbreaking smile and her whole world as she knew it disappeared. _

"_Happy Birthday, Haley."_

.

.

As she leaned against a wall, surrounded by people she hardly knew-only invited because of their status, she realised that was the best birthday present he could have given her, no amount of anything - fancy watches, diamonds, pearls - could compare to the feel of his lips on hers.

And then as if some higher power was reading her mind he was there. It was his back she saw first, but she could recognise it anywhere, she had spent hours running her fingers over the firm muscles which were currently tensed as he hunched over the bar-then he was moving, as if he had felt her eyes on him and he was looking at her.

And there went the heart.

Taking a deep breath she pushed herself onto the soles of her feet and then they were carrying her towards him.

"Nice party." He smirked, using the beer in his hand to gesture to the large room, streamers and banners decorating the walls-tastefully, of course.

"I like it." She replied, not meeting his eyes as she let her eyes follow the same path as his.

"Sure." He shrugged, his tone telling her he knew she didn't, not really.

She sighed, folding her arms across her chest, as if the barrier could protect her thumping heart from his intense gaze. "What are you doing here, Nathan?"

He didn't reply but tipped the bottle in his hands to his lips. "Do you remember that night, on your seventeenth birthday?"

She wanted to laugh, of _course_ she remembered. "That was a long time ago." She announced, staring at him defiantly.

"Seven years." He told her. "And for the past six of them I have regretted-"

"Don't." She stopped him, feeling her stomach twist.

"Haley-"

"No, Nathan." She stood her ground, feeling anger begin to sizzle in her veins. "It's not like we were together or anything. We were nothing."

Nathan's now dark blue eyes were such a swirl of emotions that she found herself unable to meet his gaze. "You know that's not true."

She snapped her eyes to him. "After all these years you expect me to believe that?" Her tone was hard, hiding the pain he had caused her. "You do not get to waltz back into my life." She stated, her voice firm. "You just don't."

Nathan felt the dark thing in his chest he guessed was his heart give a lurch at the crack in her voice. "Hales-"

His pleading tone was cut off as another voice suddenly announced their presence, wrapping a protective arm around Haley's shoulders. "Hey babe, you're missing the party."

"Sorry." She smiled, her lips straining with the effort as he pressed his lips to her cheek.

"Dean Winchester." The sturdy man held out a hand.

Nathan shook it firmly, not missing the challenge in his green eyes. "Nathan Scott."

Haley ran her tongue along her bottom lip, pulling it into her mouth with her teeth. "He's um…"

"An old friend." He filled in.

"Nathan Scott." Dean mulled the word over. "Wait, _Charlotte Bobcat _Nathan Scott?"

Looking uncomfortable he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"Aren't you guys playing in Chicago this weekend?"

Nathan couldn't help but watch as Haley leaned into Dean's embrace as he tightened his grip on her shoulders. "I'm sorting out a few things."

Dean nodded, feeling the _end of conversation _note in his voice.

"Well, we better get back." Haley filled the silence, feeling awkward standing in front of Nathan as Dean's arm slid down to her waist.

"Oh, wait." Dean stopped her. "Are you coming to the wedding?" Noticing Haley's large doe eyes give him a silent warning. "What?" He chuckled, his eyes looking back challengingly into the taller mans. "He's an _old friend_, right?"

Dean wasn't stupid, she knew that and he was also very observant when he wanted to be.

"Wedding?" The word clawed it's way up his throat before running like acid off his tongue.

"Yeah. It's not long now." Dean grinned, looking down at his bride-to-be. "A few months, right babe?"

"Something like that." Haley's smiled was strained, never wanting to get out of a conversation more. "We really should get back."

"Okay, but you'll come, right _Nate_?" Feeling his jaw tick at the use of his nickname Nathan's eyes found Haley's, she looked terrified of his answer. She had never been good at hiding her emotions.

"Sure." He forced out, if he had anything to do with it there wouldn't be a wedding.

"Great." Dean smiled happily. "We'll send you an invitation." And then he was pulling her away, the girl Nathan had spent the last third of his life thinking of.

Quickly, without thinking he wrapped his fingers around her wrist, his mind flashing back to that morning seven years ago when he had done the exact same thing.

_Quickly she pulled her hand away and as she went to stand up, get away from the scent of him that was making her feel dizzy he gripped her wrist in his fist._

"_Come to the game tonight."_

She looked over her shoulder and he saw it in her eyes, she remembered, too.

She sent Dean a quick smile, telling him she would just be a second and let him pull her back, just an inch, out of his earshot.

"It's always been me and you, Haley." Nathan swore, his eyes burning with truth, his voice low, his words only for her. "I made a mistake when I walked away, the _biggest_ mistake." He closed his eyes, his shoulders hunched as his face was a breath away from hers. "I know you don't believe me right now but I've changed, I'm not that stupid teenage boy anymore. You're it, Haley. You once asked me what I wanted out of life and I realise now that all I want, is to be able to spend the rest of it with you."

Haley never let her eyes wander from his face, the worry lines etched into his forehead made her thumb tingle with the want to rub them away, like she used to.

Then she felt Dean tug at her other hand and she was being pulled away, Nathan's grip loosening on her wrist as her fiancés tightened on her hand.

Even as Dean led her through the crowd she found herself unable to take her eyes from him but then she realised her future was holding her hand and she set her gaze forward. The hand Dean was holding felt nice, warm, comforting. But her wrist Nathan had held tightly was still burning.

_You're it._

.

.

.

Oh and also, I have never watched VM. I just love the quote(:

_Thank you for the reviews. Seriously. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Dr. Jude; **There are no shortcuts in life or love. The pain must be felt. It's what makes us special; what makes us beautiful; what makes us worthy. The pain of how we love. But that pain is accompanied by something else. Hope. With that pain is hope.

**-##-**

**-#-**

* * *

"_We-we can't do this here." She panted, pulling her mouth from his but then he was kissing her again, his large hands gripping her hips._

_He smirked, watching as she tried to catch her breath, her lips were swollen from his teeth and her eyes were almost black with lust. He decided he could get used to the delectable image she made. "We just did."_

_She bit her lip, giggling at his line and she smacked at his shoulder, letting him press his mouth back onto hers. _

_Never in a million years did she, Haley James, think she would be making out with somebody at school, let alone in the janitors closet. But here she was, being pushed back against a wall by Nathan Scott, a bucket on her right side as a mop leaned feebly against the wall on her left. After he had kissed her that night at his party he just didn't seem to want to do anything else - at tutoring she had to bribe him into paying attention. _

_A small noise sounded in the small space and then she realised it was her, he was doing sinful things to her neck with his tongue and she lifted her leg, wrapping it around his waist and pulling his lower half more tightly against hers. _

"_I want you." Nathan's heated whisper sent Goosebumps across her collar-bone and she gripped his thick raven locks in her fists. _

"_I need you." Haley gasped back, biting her lip to stop herself moaning as his fingers dug into her backside at her words._

.

"Bad time?"

Knocked from her thoughts Haley's eyes flickered upwards, smiling at the man standing on the other side of the small table she was seated. She shook her head 'no' and he sat opposite, the chairs legs scratching on the tiled floor of the coffee shop.

"New song?" He asked.

Haley laughed, yet again stroking a large line through the words she had just written down. "If only."

Quickly, before she could stop him his long fingers snatched the paper from beneath her frustrated hands.

"Hey!" She tried to swipe the crumpled sheet back.

"Chris Keller's just looking." He assured, keeping it out of reach. _"'He's stealing my breath when you're around.'" _He quoted out loud, his eyes scanning over her writing scratched onto the paper, usually all loops and straight lines.

"Give it." Haley ordered, making another snatch for her coffee stained paper.

"You seem to be feeling awfully _inspired_ lately." Chris announced, finally sliding the sheet back to her. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that tall, dark and handsome hottie you were whispering with at your party?" Grinning as she sent him _that_ look he clarified. "And by dark and handsome, I mean your husband-to-be."

"Hmm." Haley nodded, eyes wide with _a 'I so, totally believe you' _look as she took a sip of her mocha frappuccino.

"Well whatever, I'm just glad you're writing again. And this stuffs good." He complimented, watching her lick the leftover whipped cream from her top lip.

"I'm glad you think so."

"Sarcasm." Chris nodded, as if he had just figured out some big secret. "Well just think, in a few weeks we'll be on a tour bus, headlining every city in the world."

She laughed. "Actually, I'll be headlining, you'll just be opening."

He clutched at his shirt - which Haley wondered if he had borrowed from his sister - where his heart lay underneath. "If only people knew how _truly_ cruel you really are. Nice disguise by the way."

Haley smiled evilly, pushing her large sunglasses up the bridge of her nose as her phone vibrated on the table and after seen the caller-display flashing she pressed the _'ignore' _button on her Blackberry.

She noticed him staring at her quizzically and rolled her eyes. "Brooke." She explained and he nodded, letting out an _ah_ in understanding.

"She's probably just wondering why you've been ignoring her since your party." He announced as he stood up, ignoring the evil eye he was receiving. "And she's probably wondering who that gorgeous man you were having eye sex with is."

She threw a balled up napkin at his ridiculously gelled hair as he chuckled, walking away from her table. "I'll see you in the studio tomorrow."

She sighed, looking out the clear window of the café as people bustled by outside, many clutching shopping bags tight, wrapped up in coats and scarf's to protect themselves from the air, which was getting colder everyday.

Despite trying to keep her mind busy it ended up on him. When Nathan and her had started - well, to this day she wasn't sure what it was. They were together all the time, for the first few weeks it consisted mostly of making out. In his bed, _her_ bed, his car, his dad's office, the school gym, the cafeteria… He wasn't ashamed of been seen with her, this nobody girl who no one knew, and she wasn't bothered by what anyone thought. His mere presence washed it all away.

She felt more comfortable with him than she had anyone else - like she felt with Brooke, who had been her only true friend since she was seven. But it was different, she didn't get a tingly feeling all over when Brooke hugged her, and her insides didn't melt when Brooke merely looked at her.

Then one night she had a huge screaming match with her mom. And unlike going to Brooke's - like she usually would she wound up outside his house. And as she sat in Starbucks she realised how lucky she was that his parents weren't home. He had immediately taken her inside, pulling her up to his bedroom and she told him what happened, her eyes brimming with angry tears as she repeated the hurtful things she had said and her mother had yelled back. He just sat and listened.

And she understood now that's why she probably went to his that night, he didn't judge her. He didn't ask a million questions, didn't try and get her to realise she was in the wrong, he just let her get it all out.

She could still see it clearly in her mind. Sitting on his king-size bed, close enough to smell the soap from his skin, his hair still damp from his shower. She had leaned forward, pressing her lips to his and she had needed him then, truly needed him and he was there, kissing her, holding her.

He had pulled back, gasping for air and declaring they should stop, or he wouldn't be able to.

But she had silenced him by pulling at his belt buckle, and then he had pressed her into the mattress, taking everything away and just letting her _feel_.

Their relationship wasn't just about sex after that - not that you could even call it a relationship. She heard the whispers at school everyday, _'are they like, together?'_, But truthfully she didn't even understand it herself. But Nathan made her feel things she never had before and the more time they spent together, the more time she spent learning his body the more she fell into the swirling mass that was Nathan Scott.

She decided the closet thing she could call them was _'Friends With Benefits,' _even though they had never really been friends and it wasn't all about the benefits.

She made the biggest mistake one night as they lay, quietly entwined in her bed - tiny in comparison to his, but they made it work. As she had run her fingers down the side of his face as he lay on his side, his head half hidden in her pillow she came to a realisation as he 'heavy breathed' into her face.

She was in love with Nathan Scott.

.

.

"Brooke I can't talk right now." Haley sighed into her phone after ignoring the buzzing against her thigh for as long as she could. "I'm grocery shopping."

Brooke's raspy voice let out a breath in a 'what am I going to do with her' way - her point for calling momentarily forgotten. _"What kind of _rock star _goes grocery shopping?"_

Haley rolled her eyes. " I'm not a rock star and shut up I like it, it calms me."

"_You are so weird sometimes." _Brooke announced, her easily distracted brain remembering her reason for calling. _"And now, would you like to tell me I was just imagining things the other night and I did not see you talking to he-who-shall-not-be-named?"_

"_Kcchhh_." Haley made a rustling noise in the back of her throat. "Sor-cutting off-can't-tunnel-"

"You're in a supermarket!" She heard Brooke's indignant voice yell before she hung up, throwing her phone into her large handbag, thinking she could just pretend she never heard it.

"You always were subtle." A deep voice announced as if on cue and her cheeks instantly heated, her heart twisting. She closed her eyes for a second, she should not be reacting like that to a man's voice. Especially a man who wasn't Dean.

"Unlike you who was more of a screw-you-over-without-any-second-thought kinda guy."

Nathan tried not to wince at her tone. "I deserved that."

"You also deserve a kick in the balls but I'm thinking that would cause a scene." Pushing her cart further along the isle Haley picked up a bag of oranges, pretending to study the fruit.

Even though he shouldn't, he found himself smirking as he walked around to stand in front of her trolley, his own basket resting in the bend of his elbow. "I don't think anyone would recognise you." He told her, taking in her large sunglasses, baseball cap and large purple scarf. "Didn't know you were a Red Sox's Fan." He announced, reading the word_ 'Boston Red Sox' _from the cap she wore.

She dropped the bag into her cart. "I'm not. But Dean is." She replied, it felt awfully tight on her head all of a sudden.

Nathan ignored the jealousy swirling in the pit of his stomach. His eyes finding their way to her hands, which were gripping tightly onto the bar, her engagement ring flashing at him mockingly as if to say _'just think, it could've been you.'_

"What are you still doing here, anyway?" She asked, taking in his stubbled jaw and the hat he wore. "Aren't you like, a professional basketball player?" She asked as if she didn't know but of course she did. She had even caught a couple of his games, torturing herself with_ 'what-ifs' _as she watched him ran around the court.

He rubbed at the back of his neck - an action Haley had learned meant he was uncomfortable, nervous, un-sure of himself.

"Still working stuff out?" She asked mockingly, remembering his words at her party days before.

Nathan rubbed his chin with his knuckles. "There's this charity event tonight, you should come."

Forgetting that he hadn't answered her question she looked at him as if he had two heads. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "It's for a good cause."

She scoffed, going to make her way around him but he blocked her path.

"You can even take Dean." He told her, even though the words cut at his throat. "It's for children." He added, hoping to make her change her mind. "And it's only a small organisation right now, they need more people to get involved, people who can get it publicity. Bring big donations." He shrugged. "And I'm sure a big rock star like you going would get a lot of peoples attention."

She ignored his charismic grin. "I'm not a rock star." She repeated those same words she had to Brooke mere minutes before, trying to remember her reason for not wanting to go.

Nathan smirked, picking something out of his basket and flashing it at her. "Number one album three weeks in a row. That's pretty rock star-_ish_ if you ask me."

His blue eyes were burning into her as she let her own brown ones look at the copy of her album he was holding. "Why are you buying that?" She couldn't help asking, feeling weird as he held something he had pretty much helped create in his hands.

"Well, I already have the deluxe edition, the DVD version and the live concert one." He grinned his charming grin and she found her own lips twisting upwards.

Remembering who she was standing talking to she sobered, her face blank except for her cheeks which she could feel burning. "I have to go." She told him, ready to walk away when he was standing in her way again. "Nathan-"

"Please come tonight, Haley." He asked. "It's a really good cause. And you wont even have to speak to me."

"Win-win for me then." She said back, noticing his smile lift at her joking tone and she immediately wanted to get away, being with him for more than five minutes and he was already making her forget. "Send me the information and I'll see if I can make it." She replied, even though she knew she could, she had some downtime until her tour in a few weeks.

Nathan's smile could have been seeing by a blind man. "Oh wait. I don't have your address or anything."

She kept on walking. "If you really want me there you'll figure it out."

.

.&&.

.

"_So, I hear the _total_ hottie and man-whore Captain of the basketball team is going out with some _total_ loser." A loud raspy voice could be heard echoed throughout the nearly empty tutor centre, her voice mocking of that of half the girls in their school. _

_Haley rolled her eyes at Brooke's dramatics as the stiletto wearing girl plopped into her chair across from her. _

"_Does no one at this school have anything better to talk about?"_

"_Apparently not." Brooke replied, pulling her make-up bag from her large shoulder one and they sat in a comfortable silence, each girl doing their own thing. "Doesn't it bother you?"_

"_Why should it?" Haley asked, not expecting an answer but of course the immaculately dressed girl had one._

"_Because their _whores_ calling _you_ a whore." Brooke told her in a pissed off tone, her manicured nails helping her to open the lid of her compact. "They all think he's using you for sex."_

"_Do you include yourself in that?" Haley questioned, letting the test she was currently marking fall forgotten to the table, the chicken scrawled _Nathan_ written in the top corner not going unnoticed to the other girl._

"_A 93." Brooke nodded, impressed. "You ask him questions and for every one he gets write you remove a piece of clothing?" She asked, pretending to un-button the blue blouse she was wearing, her tongue exaggeratingly licking her lips._

_Haley rolled her eyes but couldn't help but laugh, throwing a pencil she had strewn across the table at her best friend. "Shut up."_

_Brooke giggled along with her, winking as she handed Haley her small mirror, motioning for her to hold it up. __"Boys are nothing but trouble." Brooke insisted, opening her eye wider to apply a thick layer of mascara, as she looked at her reflection "I'm thinking of turning lesbo." _

.

.

"So, I hear the _total_ hottie and man-whore Captain of the basketball team is going out with some _total_ loser." Brooke made her presence known loudly as she walked into the recording studio. "Oh, wait. That was seven years ago and though I thought things had changed, apparently I'm a little late on the up-take."

Haley sighed as she made eye contact with Chris over the sheet music they were working on. "And somehow you're still as sweet as ever."

Brooke glared at Haley's large grin, folding her arms defiantly across her chest. "Do you want to explain to me why you were talking to him or am I going to have to sit on you?"

Haley looked at her for a second, knowing she would do it if she had to. That's how she had managed to get her to spill about losing her virginity, sitting on her stomach until she had choked out an answer. "We weren't talking."

"Reminiscing, then." Her sarcasm wasn't lost at the two musicians.

"Surprisingly, no." Haley spoke back mockingly. "I wanted to know why he was here."

"And did he tell you?"

Begrudgingly she answered. "No."

Brooke laughed loudly. "And why doesn't that surprise me."

"Brooke I'm not stupid okay. I'm not just about to run back to him simply because he showed up." She promised.

The fashion designer raised an eyebrow then sighed, falling into the seat beside her. "I know, I just don't wasn't to see you get hurt again." She explained, softly.

"And I love you for that." Haley replied, smiling at her. "But I'm not going to. I'm happy, I have music, friends, Dean." She smiled wider at the thought of him.

"Good." Brooke grinned.

"I am so confused right now." Chris announced, receiving eye rolls from both curvy girls.

"Besides, you're only in New York for the next couple of weeks, we have to make the most of it." Haley said, ignoring Chris. "And I know just the thing. There's a big charity ball tonight at the Plaza hotel."

.

.

"You _what?_"

"What was I supposed to say?" Haley asked, putting her shopping bags onto her large hotel bed.

"Well, I'm thinking _no_ would have been appropriate." Dean replied, his arms crossing over her broad chest.

"It's for charity." Haley explained. "I couldn't say no."

"Or you couldn't say no to _him_?"

Surprised at the jealousy clearly running in his tone she looked up, her eyes meeting his for the first time since she had entered her hotel suite. "Dean, this is for a good cause." She promised, taking his hands in hers, ignoring the fact that she had just used the same words Nathan had to get her to agree to go. "It has nothing to do with him." She released his fingers as she turned back to her purchases. "And why would it, anyway?"

Dean watched her movements as she pulled her new dress from the pale pink bag. "He's the guy who broke your heart."

"God." She laughed, hiding the rawness she could feel in her throat. "Don't be so dramatic."

He could see her back tense and her movements become sharper. "Haley." He touched her elbow softly, waiting for her to stop moving. "He hurt you once and I promise I wont let him do it again."

Haley let him turn her around, her heart giving a soft tug at the protectiveness in his green eyes. "Dean, what happened between us was a long time ago. Before I met you. And I'm over it, we were kids." She shrugged, as if that explained everything.

His gaze never wavered. "And yet you wrote an entire album about it."

Her own eyes flashed along with her flaring nostrils. "Dean-"

"Look I have to go buy a new tux." He told her, quickly pressing his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

Haley was left standing as she watched his back disappear behind the door. She closed her eyes, willing the angry tears she could feel stinging the backs of her eyes to stay there as she turned back around, running her fingers over the soft material of her dress.

.

.

"_I'm starting to think you don't enjoy our tutoring sessions." Haley announced into the quiet room, after having gone to Nathan's to in his words 'try and teach him something' and had ended up wrapped in his bed sheets._

_Nathan's deep chuckled sent Goosebumps over the back of her neck. "Oh trust me, I _definitely_ enjoyed that."_

_She found herself giggling as his lips trailed up her bare back, teeth pulling at her bra strap._

"_Why didn't I take this off?" He mumbled into her soft skin, his hot breath fanning onto the already over-heated flesh. _

"_I think you were a little bus-_y_." Haley gasped on the last word as Nathan's tongue touch the newly freed skin as the material fell apart. "Doing that." She breathed out, feeling his hand grip her hip tighter, his fingers curling around her hip bone. "Nathan." She put her arm behind her, clutching the back of his head as his lips worked there way up her shoulder to her neck._

_He smirked against her neck, feeling her push back against him and he groaned into her skin as she pressed against his obvious arousal. "Jesus. What are you doing to me." He growled out, his hand sliding up her stomach to pull away the cups of her bra, throwing the material to the floor._

_Her breath caught in her throat as he moved over her, his arms on either side of her head, the look in his eyes making her inner thighs burn. And she prayed he couldn't see what she was feeling in her own. _

_He could see it, her liquid orbs were a swirl of emotions that he had never had directed at him before, and it scared him, the lurch his heart gave in his chest. So he didn't try to figure it out, instead he kissed her, let them both bask in the need neither could understand._

.

.&&.

.

"Wow." Brooke's awed voice was heard by the three people she had shared a limo with. "_Swan-ky." _

"Why, thank you." An accented voice responded. "Now, if you'll please come with me I'll escort you to your seats."

Brooke raised an eyebrow as she watched the slim mans behind swish as he walked in front of them.

"Stop it." Haley told her sternly but her tone was filled with amusement.

"Is that Chad Michael Murray?" Julian asked, his eyes scanning over the many round tables scattered about the room.

"He has _such_ a crush on him." Brooke explained to Haley and Dean, giggling as he squeezed her hand in return.

"I just think his movies are good." Her boyfriend clarified.

"You okay?" Haley asked quietly as the couple beside her continued to bicker.

Dean nodded, sending her his stunning grin. "I'm good." But she knew he was lying, his shoulders were so tense she was scared if someone bumped into them his shoulder blades would snap.

"Here we are." The man in the white tux announced, his manicured hands gesturing to the beautifully decorated table, situated in the middle of the room, a few tables behind the stage.

"This is gorgeous." Brooke awed as she sat in the chair she pulled out for herself, smacking Julian's arm as she noticed Dean pulling Haley's out for her.

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

Brooke simply smiled back, her eyes once again moving around the decorated room. "This place is amazing, I wonder who did all of this?"

Dean snorted behind the event card he was looking at, ignoring the warning glare form his fiancé he spoke. "Looks like we're having dinner first."

"Thank god, I am _starving_." Brooke announced, rubbing her stomach over her devil red dress. "You okay, Hales?"

The small girl looked at her friend, instantly sending her an _'I'm so totally not fine but I'm not going to tell you that'_ smile.

"Hello everyone." A voice boomed from the stage, saving Haley from answering. "We would like to thank you all for coming and supporting the charity tonight. _Sports for Kids _is a charity dedicated into helping underprivileged kids get all the normal experiences of everyone else, even if that's a simple thing like throwing a baseball." The greying haired man smiled into his microphone. "Now, dinner will be served and then we will see where the night takes us. Thank you."

Brooke leaned into Haley's side. "Hopefully it'll be taking me to the bar."

Haley laughed quietly, smacking the young fashion designers bare shoulder.

And then she felt it, something burning into her back, a shock of heat crawling up her spine before settling low in her stomach.

She closed her eyes, willing herself not to turn around.

It seemed Dean had felt it too as he looked behind her, his green eyes turning into emerald stones as he glared at the tall raven haired man. "I'm surprised he doesn't just walk over and drag you off."

Haley sighed. "Well it's a good thing I wouldn't let him, isn't it?" She smiled, placing her hand on top of his and leaning over to press her lips to his, her other hand cupping his stubbled cheek.

Nathan watched them from across the room, feeling his fists tingling with the desire to punch that Dean guy in the face.

It was going to be a long night.

.

.

"How much are you going to give?" Brooke asked, tapping her pen against her chin.

Haley pursed her lips, her own pen between her teeth. "I'm not sure."

"Well, how about a dance while you decide?" Dean asked, sneaking up behind her.

"Go ahead." Brooke said, making _shooing_ motions with her hands. "Go be in love and all that."

Haley smiled, she hadn't heard that tone of voice in days. "Gladly." She grinned, letting him pull her onto the dance floor.

_I'm finding my way back to sanity again,  
__though I don't really know what  
I'm going to do when I get a breath and hold on tight,  
spin around one more time,  
and gracefully fall back to the arms of Grace_

"So, I've been thinking." Dean's voice broke into the trance his dancing partner seemed to be in and he smiled as her brown eyes flashed back to the present apologetically.

"What have you been thinking?" She asked, trying to make the feel of his palms on her bare back _burn_, make her so dizzy with lust and want that she could barely stand. But they didn't, it felt nice. Warm.

"I think we should move the wedding up." He told her, watching for her reaction.

"To when?" She wondered, her hand which was holding onto his shoulder tightening, she prayed he didn't notice.

"Before you go on tour."

She laughed, her large eyes widening as she saw he wasn't joking. "Dean, my tours in less than a month." She reminded him, the ring on her finger feeling far, far too tight.

"I know." He replied.

"We haven't even started planning things."

"I know." He said, then asked the question which had been plaguing his mind for a while. "Do you still want to get married?"

"What?" Her eyes snapped to his. "Of course I do. I _love_ you." She reassured, her fingertips brushing against the back of his neck.

"Really? Because it seems like you're having no trouble finding reasons not to." He told her.

Haley opened her mouth to respond when a dark figure appeared behind him.

"Mind if I cut in?"

She watched the solidness of Dean eyes turn into a liquid fire.

He let out a disbelieving laugh, then he was turning around and walking away. "She's all yours."

Haley watched his back move beneath his tux, anger suddenly overwhelming her. He was always sensible, never one to cause a scene. But just once she would like if he would stop bottling up his jealousy or anger and let it out. _Fight_ for her.

"Having fun?" Nathan asked, having already wrapped his arms around her waist.

She told herself if she hadn't of been mad at her fiancé she would have gone after him. "When are you going to get it? I'm with _Dean_, Nathan."

He grinned down at her, shrugging. "It's just a dance, Haley." He promised as the song changed. "And if you're _'with'_ Dean then why don't you go find him?"

_I want to hold the hand inside you  
I want to take a breath that's true  
I look to you and I see nothing  
I look to you to see the truth_

She couldn't answer him so she didn't simply let him turn her around on the dance floor. She hated how the skin she had wanted to burn seconds before was immediately ablaze as his calloused fingertips merely brushed against her back. _This is wrong. Think about Dean, do you remember him? The man you promised to spend the rest of your life with?_

"You look beautiful." Nathan's breath whispered against her forehead, even as he hunkered down slightly he still towered over her. And she did, her midnight blue dress gave her pale skin a gorgeous glow, the sweetheart neckline giving him a lovely view as he stood tall above her. "But you always do."

"What are you doing, Nathan?" Haley snapped. "I don't know what you think I came here for but it sure as hell wasn't for you."

He met her challenging gaze. "I think you did."

"Well you're wrong." She replied, removing her eyes from his and instead tried to find Dean in the seemingly endless crowd of people.

"I think you're lying." He told her, relishing at the soft skin he could feel against his palms. "You still want me, Haley. You never stopped."

"You don't know what you're talking about." She snapped, feeling her face flush as she tried to pull out of his grasp. "You left and I moved on."

His blue eyes burned with want. "Then why are you dancing with me instead of him?"

She met his determined stare and then she was free of his grasp.

Then she was walking away, leaving him alone on the dance floor as she felt her heart stretch painfully in her chest as if it was been pulled away from where it was meant to be.

.

.

As she manoeuvred her way around the tables and passed the free bar Haley's upper arm was suddenly grasped tightly.

"Tell me I was just imagining things." Brooke asked her. "And I did not just see you dancing with Nathan Scott."

"You were imagining things." Haley replied, tried of talking about him. Tired of _thinking_ about him.

"What are you doing, Haley? And why didn't you tell me Nathan invited you here tonight?" She asked, her vodka and coke forgotten on the polished countertop. "Dean just stormed past me like a raging bull, he looked really upset when he spoke to me."

"Where did he go?" She asked, not letting her guilt trip her into spilling her guts.

"Do you still have feelings for Nathan?" Brooke questioned a heartbeat later, dreading the answer as she waited for her friends response.

"Excuse me." That same voice boomed from the stage, saving Haley once again. "But tonight we have a very special guest, one of the founders of the charity, the very generous, Nathan Scott!"

The whole room burst into applause as they watched the point guard make his way onto the stage.

Brooke and Haley momentarily letting their argument go watched him as well. "What is he doing?"

"Sorry for interrupting." He smiled into the microphone. "But I just wanted to personally thank you all for coming out here tonight. It means a lot to know people are supporting the charity." He said, earning another round of clapping. "And I also have my own announcement today, as today is also the day I retire from basketball." There was a stunned silence around the room. "As much as I love the game I realised there are more important things." His blue eyes found her, as they always did. "Something I love more."

Suddenly the room was too small, there were too many people and she couldn't breath. "I have to go." She choked out, not waiting to hear the rest of what he had to say as she tried not to fall in her dark blue heels, ignoring the brunette calling her name.

.

.

"_Okay seriously Duke, I think you're about to pull my arm off." She puffed, trying with all her might to pull on the brown Labradors leash. "Heal. _Heal_."_

_Her walking partner chuckled, his Nike sneakers making no noise against the sidewalk. _

"_Duke!" She finally lost her patience, he looked back at her with his golden eyes, burning with the desire to run. "He doesn't listen."_

"_He just doesn't listen to you." Nathan explained, placing his hand over hers and giving the red leash a sharp yank. "Duke. _Heal_."_

_She watched with amazed eyes as the dog immediately slowed, coming to walk in-between them. "That is so unfair."_

_Nathan smiled proudly. "You just need to be stern."_

"_But he's so cute." Haley said, fluffing the dogs ears. "Look at that face." She awed in a baby voice as he looked up at her, his tongue hanging out the side of his smiling mouth._

"_You are such a pushover." Nathan's deep voice was amused as he unhooked Duke's collar, letting him go as they reached the large park. _

_They sat on the old bleachers, one of her thighs resting over his. "So…" She twisted her lips, not able to keep her mouth shut any longer. "I saw the big envelope on the kitchen counter." She told him, watching as his blue eyes met hers as if he was just waiting for her to bring it up. "It was pretty thick. Surprised it could even fit through the letter box." _

_He kept his smile at bay as she continued to ramble._

"_I mean, the postman probably had a hard time carrying it, probably had to use all his strength to pick it up. It's lucky Duke didn't try and bring it to you he might have lost a tooth and how long are you going to make me do this?" She asked after running out of breath._

"_I just wanted to see how far you could go." He teased, resting his arms on her jean-clad thighs. _

_She sent him a dirty look, her smile giving her away. "Was it from Duke?"_

_Nathan nodded, his eyes following his Duke as he rolled about on the grass. "Yeah. I haven't opened it yet." Lines appearing on his forehead as a million thoughts ran through his head. _

"_You know you got in." Haley teased, weirdly missing his usual cocky confidence. "When does the semester start, September?"_

"_Yeah, I just don't know if I do." He replied, his voice a million miles away, losing himself in her touch as her thumb rubbed softly at his temple, making the worry lines disappear. _

_She bit her lip, taking his wrists in her tiny hands. "Nathan, I know you've been working towards Duke College your entire life, but was it your dream, or your dads?" She hedged, unsurely. _

"_It was always the plan." Nathan's firm tone replied._

"_I know. But I just don't want you to look back and think _'what could have been' _if you hadn't done what your dad wanted and had instead done what _you_ wanted." She told him earnestly. "What do _you_ want out of life?"_

_In that moment he felt something he never had before and he realised he could easily spend the rest of his life feeling it. _

.

.

Leaning against the wall outside the huge hotel Haley finally felt like she could breathe again, only just, but it was something.

"He never was one to do things by half."

Her head swivelled in the voice's direction, the last few days having shocked her so much she wasn't surprised at who she saw. "And you would know."

Clayton grinned that same boyish grin and she felt a small comfort in that fact. "I've missed you, James." He announced and she found herself been pulled into his large form.

She smiled into his white and pink shirt - Clay was never one to blend in. "You too, Evans." She replied, and she had. She had found an unlikely friendship with the blonde boy as she and Nathan grew closer, he was on the basketball team and despite their occasional heated comments, she also found out Clay was Nathan's closest friend. His _only_ friend, if she was been honest. Only _true_ friend.

"You look good." He declared, taking in her small form with his knowing blue eyes.

"And you look buff." She laughed, hitting his large bicep. "Jeez Clay, what've you been taking?"

He just smiled back at her, making her think he knew all the things she wasn't saying. He removed something from his tux bottoms, flipping open the lid and offering her one.

She shook her head. "I don't smoke."

He raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since I figured out it's bad for you." Haley replied, looking out into the car park, the hidden meaning in her words not lost on him.

"He was a wreck, you know." Clayton announced, lighting up his cigarette. "All through college if anyone even looked at him the wrong way he was jumping down their throats."

She looked up at him, watching the smoke swirl out of his mouth as he spoke. "And I should feel _bad_ about that?"

"No." He answered without hesitation. His mind wandering back to the day he found her sitting all alone in the school gym, her eyes seeing a thousand things he would never be able to understand. He had hated Nathan in that moment, where she turned to him with her large doe eyes, brimming with un-shed tears and had then finally broke down in his arms. It broke his heart. "But I thought you'd want to know. He was a mess without you." He quickly continued at her glaring gaze. "What he did was wrong, I know. But I have never seeing that boy smile the way he did when he was with you, or look at anyone with such… _wonder_."

"We were in high-school, Clay." She replied, trying not to let his words sink in.

He smiled a ghost of a smile. "Yet, even after he left, broke you into a million pieces you still asked me to watch over him at Duke." Her burning eyes found his, shocked that he remembered her words to him the day before he himself left for college.

"_Could you just do me one favour? Look out for him."_

And then it all came rushing back, the nights alone in her bedroom, the days spent down at the dock, the inside jokes, the heated looks across a crowded room had her reaching for the half finished cigarette in Clay's hand.

.

.&&

.

Haley clutched at her side as she felt her stomach muscles cramp up, God she had never laughed so much since… she couldn't remember when. She listened to Clayton as they reminisced about the old days, missing out the third leg of their tripod as they told they stories, neither wanting to taint the short time they had together.

"I forgot what trouble you used to get me into!"

Clayton grinned wolfishly and then it faded, a softer one touching the corners of his mouth.

He didn't have to say anything. She could feel his presence behind her.

"I'll talk to you later." Clay promised, touching her shoulder softly as he kissed her cheek, giving Nathan a warning look as he bumped shoulders with the taller boy.

And then it was quiet, all traces of the earlier laughter gone, replaced with un-sure silence.

"You left the NBA?" Her question was rhetorical. "Are you stupid?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

She didn't know what to do with him. "That was your dream, Nathan. You worked for _years_ to get into Duke and then you got it _all_. And now, now you're just going to throw it away, over what? Me? Because that is just ridiculous-"

"Why? Why is it ridiculous? Because I couldn't possibly do something without having some kind of hidden agenda?" He thundered back, tried of this tentative dance they had been swaying. "The NBA _was_ my dream Haley. One my father had drilled into me since I was three. I want to finally have what _I_ want."

"You are not giving up the NBA." She told him matter-of-factly. "I wont let you."

If they hadn't of been arguing he would have smirked - actually, when they first started seeing each other and they were fighting he would simply smirk, then she would laugh and it would be over. But now they were older, had scars they had each caused each other and they were no longer the care-free kids they once were.

"I wont live my life without you, Haley. Not anymore." He swore, his voice firm. The _end of conversation _tone making her anger spark up a notch.

"Your life?" She shot back. "What about _my_ life, Nathan? I'm happy."

"You're settling." He corrected, his blue eyes daring her to tell him otherwise.

She hated how he could tear down whatever defences she had and make her feel completely bare in front of him with something as simple as a glance. "So what if I am?" She challenged. "Dean makes me feel good. I know he'll always be there. He loves me."

"Does he really?" Nathan's now husky voice deepened. "Does he make you feel the way I did? Make you so hot that you had to pull me into an empty classroom?"

She didn't let the sinful image he had just painted enter her mind. "He's reliable." She came back with, trying to forget the way Dean's touch simply made her skin warmer while Nathan's made her _burn_.

"That's _not_ a reason to be with someone!" Nathan told her, trying to get her to see past all the shit he had put her through, make her see him _now_.

"And what? _You're_ who I should be with?" She found herself angrily shouting back. "You show up after _years_ of silence and just expect me to forget everything. Forget the nights I cried myself to sleep over you. How I spent month after _month_ trying to figure out what I had done wrong." She watched with sick satisfaction as his face contorted, as if the mere thought of it caused him pain. "You left me, Nathan."

.

.

"_What the _hell_ was that?" Haley's pissed off tone echoed around the empty living room she had just been practically shoved into. "That was fucking humiliating, Nathan." She said after having him just pull her away from the conversation she was having._

"_He was hitting on you." Nathan growled, the jealousy and protectiveness he felt hidden in his tone by anger. _

_Her eyes widened and she scoffed. "And why would you care?" She challenged, watching his face harden. "You have been acting like a complete jackass, lately. I cant do anything and you're bitching at me." _

_Nathan wanted to explain it to her. How he couldn't help it, how he found himself falling more and more into her everyday and instead of telling her he took it out on her. Unable to understand the feelings swirling inside him, the fact that whenever she was speaking to another guy he saw red, felt a protectiveness what was damn caveman like. _

"_Fine." He bit out. "Why don't you just go back in there and drop to your knees for him."_

_She had never wanted to punch him in the face before, but in that moment she could have. "Why are you been like this?"_

"_Me? I'm not the one who was just practically throwing myself at that prick." He knew it wasn't true, he had seen that punk West grab her elbow, leering at her as she tried to push him away. Years later Nathan would realise that had pushed her away because he was scared he wasn't good enough for her, that one day she would realise it and leave him. And that was a pain he didn't think he would survive. _

"_I would _not_ throw myself at anybody else, Nathan." She bitched back, her brown orbs reflecting the same anger as his now dark blues. "Why would you care anyway, we're not together, right?"_

_Nathan felt that horrible gut wrenching pain in his stomach. "Why don't you just go fucking sleep with him, then."_

_She released the inside of her lip which she had been chewing. "I couldn't sleep with anybody other than you."_

"_How the hell am I supposed to believe that?" His tone was mocking, making the backs of her eyes sting with angry tears."_

"_Because I'm in love with you, you stupid jackass." She declared into the suddenly deadly quiet room and she found herself remembering back to a year earlier where they had sat in this same room and he had kissed her for the first time and she had felt her whole world disappear. _

_But this time instead of stumbling out together she got to watch his back as he walked away from her. And she felt her whole world crumbling down around her._

.

.

"I made the biggest mistake that night." His voice was hoarse, a smorgasbord of emotions. "I never wanted to hurt you-"

"But you did anyway." She fired back, not letting him talk his way out of what he did. "Do you know what it was like to have to find out from _Dan_ the next day that you had left for college? You packed up your life and left without so much as a backwards glance." She couldn't help the hurt in her voice as she remembered the smarmy grin on Dan Scott's face as she turned up on his doorstep the following morning, hoping to rectify things with Nathan.

_He's gone._

_What?_

_He left for college this morning._

_But the semester doesn't start until next week. _

_Haley, is it? Look, let me give you some advice. Nathan's older than you, he needs different things. And some high school infatuation clinging to his ankle isn't what he needs. Just move on, you'll be a lot better off._

"I-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses." She turned, ready to walk away when he grabbed her elbow, swinging her back around to face him. She hated the lurch her heart gave at the fire burning in his eyes. "I told you I loved you, and you pretty much slapped me in the face. Actually, a slap in the face would have been less painful."

"I did love you." He told her, with all the sincerity and passion that she felt herself believe him.

"Don't say that."

"I still love you. I never stopped."

"_Stop_ it." Haley raged, trying to pull her arm free of his tight grip.

"It's the truth." He never let her go, instead he gripped both her wrists in his fists, pulling her closer to him. "I was a stupid teenage boy back then, Haley. I had basketball and my dog, nothing else mattered. And then you came crashing into my life and turned everything I'd known upside down. You made me feel things that I didn't even know I was capable of. And that scared me, terrified me that I could want someone so much. _Need_ someone as much as I did."

Haley felt the fight wash out of her, simply letting his touch remind her of everything they once had. "So you ran." She spoke, not understanding.

"I've lived the past seven years without you and as selfish as it is I wont do it anymore." He told her, earnestly. "I _can't_."

Despite her best efforts she was getting lost in his words, in his smell in his _touch_. He was leaning down then, his lips almost touching hers when she was jarred back into reality by a cars flashing headlights.

"What am I doing?" She asks incredulously, mostly to herself. "I shouldn't be here." Her whispered declaration was for him only as she pulled away, and this time he let her go.

"You're _it_, Haley." Nathan called those same words to her he had the other night. "You still love me, no matter how much you wish you didn't."

She walked away, his words finding her ears and entering her thoughts, swirling around until she was sure she would collapse. And she knew if she let herself look deep down, into that drawer she had padlocked shut years ago and thrown away the key, she would see that he was right.

_You're it._

.

.

I wasn't going to post until i had chapter four finished but i can't help myself, plus it's been two weeks. Plus i'm ill and have nothing else to do. I never thought i would actually want to be at work. Now enough of my complaining, i really hope you enjoyed this and mostly everything is clear?

_Thank you ridiculous amounts for the reviews(:_

Oh and that awesome quote is from Brothers&Sisters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Jeremy;** I'm not finished loving you.

**-#-**

**-##-**

* * *

"_I really don't want to do this." _

_Ignoring her friends anxious voice the brunette continued along the sidewalk, her heels clacking obnoxiously off the cement. "And I didn't want to go to that Mars Bar concert and yet you didn't hear me complaining."_

_Haley kept her eyes on Brooke's face, trying to see if she was joking. "Okay, first of all. It's _**30 Seconds to Mars**_. And you know that. And second, you complained the _whole_ time. 'My feet hurt, Oh my god this song is _so_ depressing, is that a guy or a girl?' She mocked in a whiney impression._

_Brooke shrugged in her 'I really don't care' way as she reached their destination. "Look, the point is, is that I did that for you, now you can do this for me."_

"_How is me getting a job helping you?" Haley asked, really not understanding her friends rationalising._

"_Because, Miss-I-am-far-too-heart-broken-to-do-anything-other-than-mope-and-check-my-phone -every-five-seconds-" Her hazel eyes hardened as said girl went to interrupt her. "So by you working here, it will keep your mind off _that_-who by the way was never good enough for you in the first place. And by keeping your mind off it you will stop depressing me with your sad face." She pouted, squeezing the unimpressed looking brunette's cheeks in her palms. "I miss my Haley smiles."_

_Pulling her face from Brooke's manicured hands Haley looked around the music store, only finding a few people lingering down the isles. "This place is death."_

"_I know you feel the same." A voice quoted from behind the counter, making the two girls turn around. _

"_Excuse me?" Brooke asked, her 'I am Head Cheerleader Bitch' eyebrow raised. _

"_Deftones." Haley said, meeting the boys challenging grey eyes, having recited the lyrics herself. _

"_Album?"_

"_Diamond Eyes." She told him matter-of-factly and she watched as an impressed smirk curved his thin lips. "I'm here for the job." She pointed to the **'help wanted' **sign taped to the cash register._

_He squinted one eye and she thought he might be having a brain aneurysm. "__I don't know why I care so much. When I shouldn't care at all."_

_It didn't take a second and she was smirking, a little meaner than she would have six months ago. "The Ataris, _Your Boyfriend Sucks_."_

_Brooke watched the two with no idea whatsoever what they were talking about._

"_For the life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins-"_

"_We were merely freshmen." Haley cut him off, bored. "_The Verve Pipe."

_He grinned suddenly, his teeth taking up most of his face. "Chris Keller likes you. You've got the job."_

_._

_._

"Okay, Chris Keller has seeing a lot of things in his twenty seven years, but I'm sure I've seen this before." He announced as he walked into the recording studio, surprised to find a very well dressed Haley James hunched over her guitar, writing furiously on a pad of paper. "Nope, I'm positive this is déjà vu."

Her eyes flashed upwards, her black eye-shadow had worn off, her mascara barely there. "Either tell me what you're talking about or go away."

He couldn't help but grin at the bite in her tone, he'd missed his old Haley James these past few days. "I'm talking about the last time I found you writing songs when you shouldn't have been." He explained, remembering just days after he gave her a job in his music store he had found her sitting at the counter, eyes completely focused on the words she was creating than the line of customers. "And it seems to me your muse is back in town."

Her nostrils flared angrily, an image of her best friend grinning devilishly in her mind. "What did Brooke say?"

Chris shrugged, settling himself onto the small stool across from her. "Not much. She just phoned me to ask if I had seeing you, and I said I hadn't then I asked why then she told me to mind my own business and then-"

"Chris."

He stopped, grinning sheepishly. "Nathan Scott, huh?"

She wanted to close her eyes but she was scared if she did she would remember his hot breath on her face, her skin on fire with his touch.

_I've lived the past seven years without you and as selfish as it is I wont do it anymore_

"Yeah." She breathed outwards, ignoring the thoughts swirling in her head, her hand itching to put them to paper. "And, hey, I am not _inspired_ because of him." She told her opening act at his assumption.

Chris laughed. "Haley, you wrote a whole album of songs about a boy who broke your heart."

Haley twisted her tongue in her mouth, her fingers curling tighter around the neck of her guitar. "And?"

His chuckle was low this time. "And now you're writing songs about a boy who came back."

She wanted to tell Chris he was wrong. She was not sitting, surrounded by sheets of written words filled with more meaning than anyone could understand because of _him_.

_I've lived the past seven years without you and as selfish as it is I wont do it anymore_

But she couldn't.

"I have to go see Dean." Haley announced suddenly, standing up as she set her guitar down, her dark blue dress swishing against her legs.

"Haley." Chris caught her wrist lightly. "Your music's what's inside of you. It's who you are. And if somebody has the power to touch that, to inspire you to write a song, to create a melody, it means something." He uncurled her arm from his grasp when he was sure she wasn't going to carry on walking. "When have you ever written a song about Dean?"

She met his cloudy grey eyes and had to look away, it was as if he was tearing down all the walls she had created to see the truth.

"I have to go." Haley replied, pulling the tuxedo jacket around her shoulders as she walked out of the studio.

.

.

.

"Dean? Dean are you in-oh, hi." Haley smiled as she saw his back, his muscles moving beneath his white dress shirt but her lips pulled downwards as she saw what he was doing. "You're leaving?"

His shoulders tensed, faltering in his movements for a second. "My agent wants me in LA for an interview. I can't not be there." And he was shoving clothes into his holdall again.

She swallowed at the sudden dryness in her throat. "You're running away." She concluded, arms folded indignantly across her chest, letting the jacket Clayton had leant her slide from her shoulders.

Dean turned then, his emerald eyes alight with suppressed anger. "I _have_ to go."

"No, you don't." Haley challenged, her legs moving her closer to him. "You're doing what you _always_ do when something gets hard, you ignore it. You turn your back and pretend it's not happening."

"You mean when that jackass had his hands all over you?" He snapped, turning to face her fully as he remembered the image of Nathan Scott's hands sliding over his fiancés bare back..

Haley laughed without humour. "That's _exactly_ what I mean, Dean. You just left, you didn't even _try_ to tell him to back off."

Dean scoffed. "Like that would have made a difference."

"It would have." She came back with. "To _me_."

He closed his eyes and Haley could already see the fight draining from him. He stopped himself before it got too heated, like he always did. "I couldn't stay and watch you dance with him, Haley. I couldn't stand to see your eyes become alive as he touched you."

Haley's eyes widened in shock. "Dean-"

"I'm going to LA for a few days." He told her, the conversation ending. "I'll be back for your farewell concert and we can talk then."

Her jaw tightened, anger pulling at the cords in her neck. "Or we could just not talk."

Instead of fighting back with her he simply nodded, putting the strap of his bag over his shoulder as he walked towards her, brushing a soft kiss to her cheek.

And then he was closing her hotel door behind him.

She waited for the tears to come, for the ripping in her chest but it never did. She felt fine. That's how Dean made her feel, she realised. _Fine_.

Even after walking away and pretty much accepting she had just told him they were over she felt fine. She didn't feel like running after him, telling him she didn't mean it and she took it all back. She was fine.

_Fighting with Dean was never the way it was with Nathan, _she found herself thinking. The heated words shot like bullets back and forth, then they would reach a point and he would smirk and then she would laugh and it would be over. But sometimes, and she felt her temperature spike at the mere thought, he would be yelling in her face, or she his, their panting breath and hurtful words touching the others skin. And then all of a sudden he would cut her off with his lips, pushing her roughly against a wall or the nearest surface and they were clawing madly at the others clothes, fuelled by anger and passion.

But Dean wouldn't fight back and she hated it.

She hated how she missed those arguments. Missed the feel of Nathan's mouth firmly against her own, his hands everywhere, tongue roughly pushing past her lips to toy with hers.

And as she stood in the middle of her empty hotel room and felt herself shiver as she felt his touch, she realised that was her choice.

Comfort or passion. Warmth or burning. Green or blue. Reliable or exciting. Butterfly giving grins or knee weakening, heart-breaking smiles. White Prince or Black Knight.

She crawled into her large bed and sank under the covers, closing her eyes as her dress twisted around her hips uncomfortably but she didn't fix the material, too submerged in her thoughts. When she had first met Dean he was different to anything she had known. Well, he was utterly gorgeous to start with, deep green eyes, strong jaw - mostly always covered in rough stubble, broad shoulders, toned chest, cute bum. But more so it was the way he made her feel at ease, managed to calm her with a simple look. He could quietly work away on something and just be still. But as she pressed her face into her mattress she realised the only reason he always made her feel like that because he never riled her up, never made her pulse thump so fast she was scared it wold jump from her skin.

_Nothing like Nathan, _she realised, her thumb digging into the deep blue band around her torso.

He could never just be still, he always wanted to be doing something - apart from when they were in bed, he would just lie with her for hours, creating trails of heat across her skin with his fingertips. During tutoring his knee would constantly be jiggling, or if they were at a party he would start fidgeting, fingers toying with the belt loops on her jeans or her necklace.

_I'm bored_, he would whine, turning his big blue eyes onto her as she sat reading a book or typing at her computer. _Do something_, she would reply, never taking her eyes off the words. He would sigh. _Like what? _She would wave a disinterested hand, _go play with Duke or basketball or something_. He would smirk then, that sinfully sexy smirk that made the space between her thighs tingle. And then he would be kissing her and she would be letting him. _Well I would, but I'd much rather be doing you_

_God he was corny, _she thought but found the corners of her mouth turning upwards.

Jarred from her thoughts she was brought back to the present by the ringing of her cell-phone. She wanted to ignore it but she couldn't, so with a groan she fell to the floor, crawling over to her purse and retrieving her Blackberry. As she saw **'Brooke' **flashing on the screen, accompanied by a picture of the both of them she felt a warmth seeping into her heart at the image of a grinning Brooke, her arms wrapped tightly around the taller brunettes shoulders as they were both laughing uncontrollably, having just fallen to the ground after having been messing around.

And that's when it hit her. She got that same feeling when she saw a photo of herself and Dean.

She loved him. She really did but if she got the same loving feeling in her stomach as she did when she looked at her best friend - she closed her eyes, _that_ was her choice.

Love or _in_ love.

.

.

.

"I screwed up." The lofty man sighed heavily, leaning his elbows on his knees as he put his head in his hands, pressing his palms against his face.

"_Again_." Clayton supplied, falling onto the large chair beside the couch. "What?" He asked when Nathan sent him a look that would have made a lesser man fall to his knees. "You did."

Nathan sighed again, pressing the heels of his hands to his forehead. Clay didn't bullshit, it was why he was friends with him. "I know, man. But I never knew how bad it was-"

"You left, Nate." Clayton cut him off, a beer hanging from his lifeless fingers.

"I know." He snapped. "But I never thought it would hurt her so bad."

"Why? Don't you remember what it did to you?"

Nathan glared, not wanting to remember the months without Haley. "Of course. But I just never - I never thought she felt the same way I did. And I know she told me she loved me." He announced as he saw Clay's large lips about to move. "But I just - God, I have never wanted or needed anything like her." He breathed heavily through his nose. "I was just scared that one day she would realise how much better she could do, that she _deserved_ better and she would leave me. And I don't think I could have survived that."

Clayton kept quiet - Nathan wasn't a _heart to heart _kind of guy. He learned that the first time he had tried to get him to open up in college, the black eye he earned himself was enough to keep his mouth shut.

"When I was away I never felt at peace, never felt like I belonged." Nathan continued, more to himself than his blonde friend. "She's home." He realised, voice deep with meaning.

"That's where the heart is, man." Clayton quoted, tapping the opening of his beer bottle against his temple. "But don't you think you should be telling Haley all of this?"

Nathan's head lifted from his clasped hands then, his blue eyes suddenly alight.

"That's never good." Clayton mumbled at the grin forming on his face.

"Home is where the heart is, right?" Nathan stood up, his mind whirling far ahead from the large hotel suite he was currently occupying. "Well, my home is currently in New York."

.

.

"Do you know that I had to flirt my way up here?" Brooke announced, a hurt tone evident in her voice. "I mean, you would think they would know who I am." Turning to find the room empty, her eyes scanning over the large hump the covers made on the bed. "But seen as my best friend has been ignoring my calls I thought I better come over and make sure she's still breathing." She explained, pulling at the corner of the duvet to reveal her friend, curled on her side. "Oh and look, you've even got all your limbs."

Haley kept her eyes firmly closed, reaching blindly for her blanket. "Go away."

Brooke sighed as she yet again disappeared under the quilt. "Did you make up with Dean?"

If her eyes had been open she would have rolled them at Brooke's subtleness. "Does it _look_ like I made up with Dean?" Came her muffled response, face smooshed against her soft mattress and as she felt herself sinking into it she thought about just lying there forever.

"No." Brooke ripped the duvet back, this time pulling it down past her bare feet. "It looks like you got into a fight."

Haley pressed her red stained lips together before finally admitting. "He left."

Brooke bit the inside of her cheek, willing her big mouth to stay shut for once in her life. "What did you fight about?" She never did had much self control.

"You." Haley's large eyes rolled upwards. "What do you think we fought about?"

"His low sex drive?" Brooke's husky laughed vibrated around the room as a large soft pillow swiftly slammed into her face. "Well it doesn't matter, because I am not letting you sit here and feel sorry for yourself."

"I am _not_ feeling sorry for myself." Haley protested, moving her hips into the mattress to try and un-twist her dress.

Brooke raised a shapely eyebrow, hugging the pillow to her chest. "And I didn't lose my V card until I was twenty two."

Haley snorted.

"Let's do something." The fashion designer insisted, wrapping her slim fingers around the singers ankles. "I'm only here for a little over a week and I've spent most of it cooped up in my hotel with Julian. And I love the boy but God, there's only so much _Grease 2 _I can watch." Her hazel eyes caught the amusement flashing back in her friends. "Not a word."

Haley raised a hand, the side of her mouth lifting of it's own accord. "What do you want to do?"

.

.

.

"Are you sure this is what you wanna do?" Clayton asked, pushing himself from the wall he was leaning against to look out of the large window, the dry, grey streets bustling below them, people unaware they were being watched.

"Positive." Nathan replied.

Clay raised a large eyebrow. "It's a lot of money, man." He said, wishing he could take it back immediately at the glare he received in return. "I'm just saying, what if it doesn't go to plan? You've just thrown away _thousands_." He knew Nathan wasn't bothered about money, and to be honest, neither was he but he decided one of them had to be rational. And considering he was best friends with Nathan Scott, it was usually him.

"It's nothing compared to what I'll lose if I don't try."

Clayton grinned, slapping the younger mans broad back. "Nice to see you've finally got your head out of your ass."

Nathan smirked, rubbing his stubbled jaw as he turned around, making the thin nervous man look up from his blackberry and told him. "I'll take it."

.

.

.

"I don't think this can be called _fun_ when its clearly a sneaky way to get you to exercise."

Haley rolled her eyes but found a grin pulling at her mouth. "Well, you did say you wanted the _full New York experience_." She shakily slid towards her friend who was clutching at the side of the rink for dear life. "And skating in Rockefeller Centre is something you have to do before you leave."

Brooke let out a shaky sigh, her breath curling in front of her face. "Apparently." She replied, her hazel eyes moving around the hardly busy ice rink.

Haley let out a small laugh and wrapped her arms around the unsteady girl. "I'm so glad you're here, Brooke." She swore, feeling one of the brunettes trembling arms squeeze around her waist. "I really have missed you." And she had, Brooke was like a walking ball of cheer, she could make her smile with just a facial expression, even when she didn't want to.

Brooke grinned, bravely uncurling her manicured hand from the railing and wrapping it around the shorter girls jacket covered waist. "Well, you could always come back with me to LA next week."

Haley pulled her head back from Brooke's shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "Or you could always stay here." She clutched onto her tighter, feeling her skates slipping beneath her.

"I'm going to miss you." Brooke announced, both girls giggling.

"Come on, Bambi." Haley said, grabbing Brooke's hand and pulling her along behind her.

Brooke scoffed, but just as the sound left her mouth and got lost in the cold air, the toe of her skate got stuck in the ice and she held onto Haley's wrist with both of her hands, managing to just stay on her feet. She could practically _feel_ her smirk. "This is dangerous, and it's also why palates is my only form of exercise."

Haley tried to stay upright, Brooke arms having found there way around her waist. She caught a group of people watching from outside of the ring and she rolled her eyes at the image they must have made.

"At least no ones recognised us." Brooke said.

"I don't think anyone can see us." Haley replied, pulling at the large grey balls of fluff hanging from Brooke's hat.

"What? They're all the rage in Paris." She defended, straightening the huge white mass on top of Haley's head.

Haley moved swiftly forward before turning around to face Brooke, watching as the fashion designer managed to steady herself. "Haley!"

"What?" She returned, grinning wickedly. "Come on! It's all right, look. The water's stiff." She tapped the metal blade against the ice as she quoted from one of her favourite movies.

Brooke glared to show she did _not_ find that funny. "Ha-ha."

Haley felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and slid her hand into the back of her jeans.

"Thumper!" Brooke called, managing to find her footing and fall against the side of the rink. "So much for spending time _together_." She grumbled, not really mad, just annoyed at her lack of grace on the slippery surface.

"Excuse me?" Brooke turned her head to find two young girls staring at her hopefully. "Are you Brooke Davis?"

Brooke grinned her dimpled grin, mood suddenly lifted. "I am."

"Oh my God!" They both squealed in delight. "We _love_ you, you're designs are just amazing. And _Clothes over Bro's _is _such_ a cool name. How did you think of it?"

"My friend came up with it, actually." Brooke admitted, her eyes sliding to said friend as she put her phone back in her pocket. "Is that one of mine?" She asked, scanning over the blonde girls red jacket.

"Yes." She replied. "I think I own every one of your designs."

"She does." Her brunette friend replied, smiling cheekily. "She's obsessed."

Brooke smiled as she watched the blonde elbow her friend in the side.

"Sorry about that." A voice announced, standing beside Brooke and the two teenagers jaws became slack.

"You're Haley James." The brunette choked out, her blue scarf feeling too tight around her neck.

Haley smiled while sending Brooke apologetic eyes. "Hi. And you are?"

"I'm Becky." The blonde said. "And this is Olivia." She pointed to her friend who was still having trouble processing words.

"You're _awesome_." Olivia said. "Your music seriously changed my life."

"Wow." Haley smiled humbly, not sure what to say. But thankfully Becky filled in the silence.

"Could we get some photos with you?" She asked the two older women in front of her.

"Of course." Brooke replied, taking the girls phone from her hand as the all manoeuvred into a line.

"So are you both friends?" Olivia asked as she slid in-between Haley James and Brooke Davis.

Brooke looked over at Haley and she saw her forehead was furrowed, and obvious sign something was weighing heavily on her mind. "The best."

.

.

"It was Nathan, wasn't it?" Brooke asked, as she and Haley walked arm in arm down the darkening NY streets. "Who text you."

Haley sighed into the take-away polystyrene cup she had pressed to her chin, the steam warming her face. "How'd you know?"

"You had that face." At her friends raised eyebrow Brooke pursed her lips and furrowed her brow in an impression of _said_ face. "Your, _Nathan Scott _face."

"I do not have a _Nathan Scott _face." Haley replied, pushing the fluff of her hat from her eyes with her green gloved hand.

"It's the only face you've got." Brooke told her teasingly and giggled as Haley pushed her away, never letting go of her arm as she was pulled back into her side. "What did he want?"

Hearing the grown-up tone of Brooke's voice the singer looked into the swirling chocolate liquid in her cup. "He wants me to meet him."

"Where?"

"I don't know. There was just an address added afterwards."

Brooke took a sip from her own mug, trying to contain the feelings she had towards the man who caused the only person who she had ever cared for more than herself so much pain. "Do you want to go?"

She was received with a _what do you think _look.

"Do you still love him?"

Haley let out a loud laugh. "Jesus, Brooke. I'm with _Dean_."

"That doesn't answer my question." The brunette replied as their arms slid from the others.

"I'm engaged." Haley tried to convey, not even sure if she _was_ still engaged. "I've moved on."

"Have you really?" Brooke asked, her hazel eyes searching her endless russet ones. "Because I think if you really had it wouldn't have bothered you that he was in New York. God, Haley, even _Dean_ noticed. And I love the boy, but he's not the most perceptive."

"He misunderstood." Haley pressed.

"I don't think he did." Brooke replied.

Haley swallowed, looking away.

"Don't you remember what he did?" Brooke asked, feeling her temper flare as she remembered the nights where she would hold Haley as she cried, promising this was the last night, that she was sorry. "All the tears you cried because of him? Because I do, Haley. And I do not want you to go through that again. I wont let you." She spoke fiercely.

"And I'm not going to." Haley returned. "I don't want him, Brooke."

Brooke met her gaze. "You can lie to me all you want, but sooner or later you're going to have to stop lying to yourself."

Haley felt her fingers tighten around her friends and she closed her eyes. "I don't want to feel like this." She whispered, her throat tightening. "How can he make me feel like we're still in high school?" She asked rhetorically. "Like he never left?"

"Are you falling for him again?" Brooke asked after a moments silence, unconsciously squeezing her gloved hands in her purple ones. Praying she didn't already know the answer.

Haley wanted to laugh at that question, instead she closed her eyes and let out a swirling breath before meeting Brooke's worried gaze. "I don't think I ever stopped."

.

.

"She's coming." Nathan announced to the large empty room as he paced back and forth in front of the large glass window. "She's definitely coming." He nodded, halting in his path for a second before turning back around in the opposite direction. "She's not coming."

Clayton watched, amused, from the floor. Seeing his usually so calm you'd think he had no feelings best friend freaking out like this was, well, it was entertaining. It still amazed him how a girl so small could turn Nathan Scott into a blubbering ball of nerves. It was just one of the things Haley James changed about Nathan, she made him human. Showed him it wasn't a weakness if you felt emotion, if you felt vulnerable or scared or love. And she definitely made him feel all of those things.

"Dude, calm the frik down." The blonde man tried not to laugh. "She'll be here."

Nathan clenched his fists, hadn't Clay heard him the last five minutes? He _knew_ she was coming.

But what if she wasn't?

He puffed out an annoyed breath, how did she manage to make him so … _not_ him without even being there? His usual calm, cold demeanour went completely inside out when it came to Haley James. But that was exactly why he needed her in his life.

Over the past seven years he had met a lot of people. But not one of them had brought out any of the emotion in him that she did. She made him feel needed, wanted. Not that an arena full of thousands of screaming fans made you feel unwanted. It was just different. Ironically he had left because she had told him she loved him, that she was _in love _with him. And for a boy who had always been told that showing emotion made you weak, it let people tare you down - it was terrifying. Because he had felt the exactly same way.

_Knock. Knock._

Clayton smirked as Nathan didn't even budge as he stared out into the lamp lit night. Getting up from the floor he punched in-between the mans shoulder blades before moving towards the door - ignoring the curses that followed after him.

Opening the large wooden door Clay grinned at the girl in front of him - bundled up in a large green scarf and some sort of dead animal on top of her head. He raised a large eyebrow. "Is that a badger?" He teased.

Haley protectively pulled her hat closer to her head. "They're all the rage in Paris."

"Yeah, to _eat_." He chuckled as she punched his chest.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked as she felt her nerves diminish slightly as he stood in front of her.

"Leaving." Clay replied, feeling Nathan's thoughts shouting at him to _get the fuck out_.

"Oh. Why?" She questioned, feeling her stomach clenching.

Clayton smirked at her visible uneasiness as he stepped out into the long hallway. "Well, unless you want a threeso-" He laughed loudly as she gasped and smacked his arm. "Do me one favour?"

She looked into his bright blue eyes, remembering back when she had asked him the exact same thing. "What?"

"Hear him out?"

She wanted to remind him about what he had done to her, about the gaping whole he had left in her chest but she didn't. Instead she nodded, letting his smiling mouth press a kiss into her hair before he walked away, his shiny shoes noisily moving down the hallway.

Taking a deep breath she pushed open the door, her eyes widening as she took in the large apartment.

Nathan smiled at her awed expression, her russet eyes moving around the empty space. "What do you think?"

"Wow." She replied, walking over and looking out of the window at the gorgeous view. "_Wow_." She repeated, her spine tingling at his deep chuckle. "This is amazing, Nathan." She swore, finding her eyes moving to his, feeling her heart back-flip in her chest. "Who's is it's?" She asked.

"Yours." He could see the confusion and shock clear in the lines that were suddenly embedded into her forehead and he wanted to pull her against his chest and kiss them away.

Haley laughed. "You're joking." Then she saw his expression and licked her lips, her mouth feeling too dry all of a sudden. "You're not joking." She realised, seeing the not-joking straightness of his face.

"I've never been so serious in my life." Nathan promised, stepping towards her.

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Nathan-you-I. You _can't_ do this." She watched his gorgeous mouth go to form more words so she quickly interrupted him. "You're a pro basketball player-"

"Not anymore."

"Oh, yes you are because I am _not_ letting you give that up." She told him, ignoring his smirk. "You can't be tied down to one place. And you can't buy this, Nathan."

"Why not?" He asked, stepping closer to her, smelling the vanilla of her shampoo.

"Because there's no reason for you to." Haley explained, unable to ignore the slash in her heart at the dip in his smile. He looked like a wounded puppy whenever he was upset and she hated being the one to put that expression on his face.

"Have dinner with me tonight."

Haley looked at him with disbelieving eyes - unable to stop her lip from curling in amusement as she found his large blue ones set on her, flecks of green clear in the endless sea. "Nathan-"

"It's just dinner, Haley." He announced and she felt the smirk that pulled at his mouth pulling at her insides.

She sent him a look, knowing with them that it was never 'just.'

Nathan chuckled low in his throat, his spine tingling at the raise of her eyebrow. "How about a coffee, then?"

Haley closed her eyes with a faint smile. He was persistent, she'd give him that. "I can't."

"Because of Dean?" He asked, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"No." She replied. "Because of me."

"Haley-"

"Goodbye, Nathan." She said, ignoring the voice screaming at her that she broke her promise to Clay.

He watched her turn to walk away. "I'm still buying this place."

She didn't want to - _she didn't_, she tried to tell herself but she found her boot coming to a halt on the hardwood flooring. "Nathan, why-" She took in a deep breath, the words she had kept bottled up since he appeared at her show falling out of her mouth. "_Why_ are you doing this?"

"I want you back." Nathan returned, his voice strong, as if he'd been waiting to say the words for years.

Haley held his gaze, still not understanding. "Why?" She ran her gloved hands over her face, feeling her hat pulling at her hair as she pulled it further onto her head. "Why me? All these years I'm sure you've met more than a few women. Tall, model-like girls throwing themselves at you, why do you need to have me?"

Nathan chuckled, a million different reason running around his mouth, fighting to be first in line. "You're Haley."

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Yeah, she was Haley. Short Haley, with dumpy legs and 'womanly' hips she had inherited from her grandmother.

"You really don't see yourself clearly." His voice broke into her thoughts, making her think he knew her, inside and out. "Yeah, sure, I've met a lot of girls over the years but not one of them-" He groaned, wishing she could see herself through his eyes, "They're not you. Haley, you came tumbling into my life and you saved me. I was on the path of becoming a miserable human being, and then I met you." He closed his eyes, wishing he could find the words to make her believe him.

"It was high school." Haley announced, not wanting to hear him talk anymore. Hear the words that were slowly chipping at the ice she had gripping around her heart.

"It was everything." He replied, closing the few feet between them. "You know the night I decided to come find you? I was at a party the team were having because we'd just won against Miami Heat. We were drinking and laughing and it was great." He grinned as she gave him an unimpressed look. "But in that room surrounded by fans and team-mates I realised I had nothing. Nothing had ever filled that void in my heart since the day I walked away from you. And that was the moment I realised that no amount of praise or money or fame could. None of it meant anything without someone to celebrate it with. None of it meant anything without _you_."

"It took you seven years to realise that." Haley said back, his smell circling around her, making her dizzy, making her forget her reasons for fighting against the pull she felt towards him.

"It took me seven years to admit that to myself." Nathan replied. "Before you I had never needed anyone. And then you were there with your quirky-ness and gorgeous smile and I couldn't stop myself falling for you even if I'd wanted to. I was scared." He admitted, swallowing past the pride he could feel trying to stop him talking. "I was scared that one day you would realise how much better you could do and leave me-"

"I didn't want better, Nathan." She told him angrily. Angry that he could think so little of himself. "I wanted _you_." She told him, wanting to pull his face to hers and make him believe her with her lips. "But you left before I could tell you that."

Nathan stared into her endless brown orbs, shining with truth. "And if you'll let me I'll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you. I just need one chance, Haley."

She kept her mouth firmly shut, fighting against her body which was about to launch itself at him and let him make it up to her right there on the hardwood floor.

"I love you, Haley. And if it takes another seven years for you to realise you love me too." He shrugged. "That's fine, I'll wait."

Haley felt herself been dragged back into him, losing herself in his cologne so she took a step back. "I have to go." She told him quietly, meeting his heated gaze as she turned towards the door.

Nathan nodded, letting her walk away from him - despite the screaming in his head not to let her go. "Haley, I'm not going anywhere."

She looked back at him as her hands twisted on the doorknob and she nodded before letting herself out and as she stepped into the hallway she felt as if she could breathe again.

.

.

"_Duke, seriously, I love you, but I don't want people to think my new perfume is essence of dog drool." Haley told the tail-wagging Labrador as she stepped into the bedroom. "Or I could just change my clothes before I go to the café." She sighed as he continued to pant all over her as she closed the door. "Hey." She grinned happily, bouncing onto the large bed and kissing his cheek loudly. _

"_Hey." Nathan returned, not looking away from the magazine he was reading, jaw set like stone._

_Haley twisted her lips, she knew that face. It was the I've-just-fought-with-Dan-but-I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it-face. She looked at Duke with a 'what're we going to do with him' expression to which he returned with by jumping onto the bed. _

"_Duke-no-" Haley laughed, trying to push the large beast as he licked at her face, removing the make-up it had taken her an hour to apply. "Duke-" She tried to sound mad but his large ears were flappping about and tickling her nose._

"_Duke!" Nathan shouted suddenly, making both Haley and the dog jump in fright. "Down. Now." He said forcefully, Duke immediately obeying as he cowered on the floor._

"_You didn't have to shout at him." Haley announced a moment later, knowing he hated doing it. _

"_Well he was annoying you." Nathan replied. "Sorry for trying to help."_

_She sighed at his pissy attitude. Pressing her lips together she leaned her chin on his shoulder, breathing in the smell of his t-shirt. "Are you okay?"_

_Nathan swallowed. He'd been asked that more in the past two months than he had in his entire life - and every time she asked he knew she actually cared for his answer. "Yeah." He sighed, tiredly. "It's just my dad, nothing new."_

_She nodded, eyes moving over the article about some basketball game. God, _everything_ was about basketball. "You know I'm always here right, if you need anything." She grinned, pressing a kiss to his collar bone through the material of his shirt. "Anything at _all_." She wanted to sigh in relief as he chuckled, a smirk pulling at the side of his mouth. _

"_Well in that case-" The magazine went flying to the floor - Duke crying out in protest as it collided with his head - and Nathan had her pinned underneath him, sucking at the skin of her neck. _

_Haley giggled loudly as his stubbled jaw tickled her throat. "Nathan." She warned as she felt his fingers dancing over her sides. "I will never sleep with you again." She threatened._

_Nathan chuckled low in his throat as he slowly tickled at her sides - she _hated_ been tickled. But with the way she was wriggling and rubbing her body against his he couldn't stop himself. "You wouldn't last."_

_She rolled her eyes at his cocky tone but pulled his mouth down to hers. It was true and they both knew it. Feeling his body relax as she tangled her tongue with his she quickly rolled him onto his back, her thighs on either side of his waist as she grinned smugly down at him. _

_Nathan chuckled at the smile on her face and he leaned on his elbows as her hair made a curtain around their faces. "Thank you." He murmured quietly, his head light as the scent of her shampoo swirled around them._

_Haley smiled, knowing those two words meant more than anyone could understand coming from him. "I'm not going anywhere." She promised, cupping his jaw and pressing her mouth back to his._

_Nathan breathed a sigh of relief into her mouth, his hands holding her as close to him as she could get. Knowing he would stay forever this way if she would let him. _

_._

_._

Right, so I'm really not sure about this chapter. It's the first of this fic that I had trouble writing - I'm not used to writing angsty NH(not even sure if you could call it angsty) anyway, I hope it flows okay. I'm a little rusty.

Thank you for reviewing and reading - i HONESTLY LOOVE YOU ALL!

Oh, and the awesome quote is from Grey's Anatomy(:

- also, the songs I used in the last chapter were Broken Arrow by Pixie Lott (these were the lyrics Chris read thhat Haley had written). Lifehouse - Breathing. And Fade Into You by Mazzy Star.


	5. Chapter 5

**Dawson; **How do you explain the things you love? You can't. You just do.

**-#-**

**-##-**

* * *

"So you're not coming back?"

"_No, that's not what I said. I might not be able to-"_

"They're the same thing with you, Dean."

An aggravated sigh could be heard down the phone line. _"I'll phone you tomorrow."_

"I _might_ not be able to pick up." She returned, angrily pressing the end call button on her Blackberry before throwing it with more force than necessary into her over-sized handbag. Blowing her hair from her face she looked up at the coffee vendor and without even looking at the menu ordered her usual.

"Bit cold for a frappuccino." A voice commented behind her and she felt herself shiver - despite the thick coat, green scarf and gloves she was dressed in.

"Bit cold for sunglasses." She replied in the same tone, noticing his lips twitch in amusement. The only part of his face she could really see considering the baseball cap he was sporting.

"A Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino, please." He told the young boy behind the counter as the cold morning air whipped around his ears.

"Girly drink, Scott." Haley teased, having never been able to help herself when it came to his type of blended coffee.

Nathan scoffed, handing over his money before waiting in line next to her. "It is not."

"It so is."

"Is not." He tried to sound annoyed but he could feel the grin stretching his cheeks in unimaginable ways. She was talking to him, and _joking_. He was joking around with Haley James. Life was good.

After a few seconds of silence she snorted. "It _so_ is."

Nathan chuckled as they both received their drinks, walking down the cement pavement.

"Where you headed?" He asked.

"The studio." She answered, her eyes widening as she looked at him.

"What?" Nathan wiped at his mouth self-consciously.

Haley eyed his frap, that was half done already. "Nothing." She told him, ripping the top off her straw packet and remembering the days when they used to go into Starbucks together she blew on the end of the green plastic, watching as the paper went flying into the side of his face.

Nathan glared at her innocent grin. God he had missed those.

They walked a little more in silence, her Dock Martins and his Nikes scuffing against the sidewalk.

"So, what brings you out at seven in the morning?" Haley asked, moving her handbag into the crook of her elbow while she held her mocha in the opposite.

Nathan watched her multi-task. "I just fancied some coffee."

"Oh." She nodded, flicking her hair from her face as she looked up at him. "You just happened to _fancy_ some coffee at the exact same Starbuck's I go to everyday?" She watched as his cheeks coloured slightly and she felt a sudden urge to lick him. Never did Nathan Scott blush. _Ever_.

"Yup." He nodded, eyes now staring straight ahead as he sipped his frappuccino.

"At seven in the morning." Haley added. "And in all the time I've known you you've never gotten out of bed for anything before twelve. Except basketball. And on occasion, school." She joked, ridiculously happy when a crooked grin pulled at his mouth.

Nathan was just waiting for someone to come and slap him in the face because he _must_ be dreaming. She was smiling and laughing and he couldn't stop himself doing the same. "I can think of another thing I never had any trouble getting _up_ for." He smirked, wishing she wasn't wearing the large green scarf so he could see her blush travel down her neck - he gulped as he remembered just _how far _down that gorgeous redness went.

She licked at her dry lips, drinking her cold coffee at the sinful images flipping through her mind. "Whatever, Stalky."

Nathan chuckled that husky chuckle and she wondered how her feet managed to keep moving as she felt her knees give in. "Okay, so I may have asked Clay to text you this morning."

Haley laughed. "Asked?" She raised an eyebrow, watching a sheepish smile curl his lips.

"Okay, blackmailed."

Again she was laughing and it was the greatest of her songs to him. Okay, maybe his favourite involved a lot more moaning, and _oh Nathan's_… he gulped again, this time following it down with some Vanilla frappuccino.

"Ah. I see." She nodded, her grin teasing. "Well, this is me." She announced as they came to a stop outside an abandoned looking building, a sign swinging from above the door indicating it was _Red Bedroom Records_.

"Oh." Nathan felt ridiculously disappointed at the fact.

Haley smiled, un-sure of what to say after the joking banter they'd been sharing.

"Have dinner with me tonight." He found the words spilling from his mouth as he looked at her, the grey cotton hat she wore slightly crooked to the side of her head, her cheeks flushed with the cold and large eyes smiling back at him. The thought that he had no idea when he would next see her made his gut clench.

She looked at him with those russet eyes, all the reason why she couldn't already swimming around in the endless brown orbs.

"Just friends." Nathan held up his hands, grinning the grin he reserved solely for her.

Haley twisted her lips. "Friends, huh?"

"Friends have dinner."

She graced him with another of her smiles and the air was knocked from his lungs.

"Okay." And with that she was been buzzed into the large building, the ancient door creaking open for her.

"I'll phone you later." He promised, wishing he didn't sound like a fifteen year old who had just been promised to get to second base.

Haley looked at him over her shoulder and nodded and then she was gone, her fingers itching with the need to put pen to paper.

.

.

"What is she doing?" Brooke whispered to herself, eyes un-moving on the couple three stories below. "Are- is she _laughing_?" She narrowed her eyes and pressed her face further against the window, unable to see as they moved towards the doorway to the studio. "I can't _see_." She complained, breath steaming up the glass.

Chris strummed a few notes on his guitar. "_I can't see nobody. No I can't see nobody. Mine eyes can only look at you_…"

Brooke rolled her eyes towards him. "I'm not in the mood for your weird music games, Chris."

He grinned. "Nothing like some kind words to brighten my day."

She gave him the finger in response just as a humming could be heard floating into the room, Haley following closely behind.

Brooke eyed her best friend, the curve of her lips, the annoyingly happy tune playing in her throat. _Not good._

Chris seemed to have noticed it too as he met the brunettes hazel eyes and they both made _uh oh _faces at each other.

"Good coffee, Hales?" Brooke questioned, her voice overly un-interested.

Haley smiled in return.

"What'd you get?" She continued, folding her arms across her blazer style jacket. "Scott Frappuccino? With an extra swirl of Nathan?"

Haley looked surprised for a second before rolling her eyes. Ignoring the two pairs of eyes burning a hole into her back as she picked up her guitar from where it was leaning against the wall.

"No come back?" Brooke asked, sliding into a chair beside Chris. "Not going to try and _defend_ yourself?"

"Why would I when I haven't done anything wrong?" Haley replied, meeting the brunettes challenging stare with one of her own.

"If it involves Nathan Scott it's _always_ wrong."

Haley softly plucked a few strings of her guitar. "We're friends."

"Since when?" Brooke asked, eyebrows lifting.

"Since I agreed to have dinner with him tonight." Haley told them, lifting her head when all she was met with was silence. She found them both looking at her like she was crazy. "What?"

"You're going on a date with _him_."

"No. _Dinner_."

Brooke pursed her lips. "I still don't like it."

"You don't have to." Haley replied, smiling at the other girls angry scowl.

"And what does your fiancé have to say about this?" Chris piped up, having just been watching the verbal tennis match going on.

Haley's fingers curled tighter around the neck of her instrument. "I wouldn't know. He's _busy_." She pulled a few sheets of paper from her guitar-case. "He's not sure if he'll make it home for my concert."

Brooke wanted to point out that this wasn't anything knew but she held her tongue. She liked Dean, she really did. He was good for Haley. He was a nice guy. He just didn't have his priorities in order. "Are you sure you're not just doing this to spite him, then?"

Haley gave her an un-amused look. "No, Brooke. Nathan's really trying, and it's just dinner. What harm can it do?" She put her head back down, eyes set on the words she was looping together.

Brooke yet again found herself holding her tongue as she looked at the flush in her friends cheeks and she sighed to herself.

_This isn't going to be pretty._

.

.

"…_I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets,  
__how you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something;  
__there's not a day when I don't miss those rude interruptions-"_

A loud ringing interrupted and the beautiful voice immediately stopped.

"What is that?" Chris's booming voice asked through the intercom.

Haley felt her cheeks bloom in colour as she quickly rummaged through her handbag, trying to find the phone she had carelessly thrown inside of it this morning. "Sorry."

"Haley, don't answer that." Chris warned, eyeing her as she looked at the screen of her Blackberry, her large brown eyes shining.

"I'll be two seconds."

"We're trying to record an _album_ here." He reminded her, earning himself a large _butter wouldn't melt _smile in return.

She held up two fingers in a peace sign just as she pressed the phone to her ear.

Chris watched as she said _hello_ in her 'phone voice'. Then her cheeks were infused with colour and he sighed. "Two minutes my ass."

The deep voice replied his greeting down the line and she felt her lady parts melt at the deep rumbling tone.

"_Are you busy?" _He continued as the silence stretched on, as he was unable to see Haley trying to wipe away her blush.

_Yes. I'm currently trying to record an album so I can earn a living_. "No." She replied, sitting on the twisty chair at the back of the small glass walled room. "Why are you asking?"

"_I wanted to make sure you aren't bailing on our date tonight."_

Haley felt the corner of her mouth twitch. "And by _date_ you mean _two friends having dinner_."

"_Of course." _He grinned_. "But just to make sure you couldn't back out I made reservations at a very exclusive place."_

Haley felt her smile ebb a little at his words. She thought he would remember that simplicity was her middle name. She would take a take-away over a sit down fancy meal any day. Then she snapped herself out of it, why was she so bothered if Nathan didn't remember? It's not like _he_ was the one she was engaged to. _It didn't matter_. "Great," She returned, trying to put as much excitement in her voice as possible while trying to ignore Chris' signals that it had been _way_ more than two minutes.

Nathan smirked at the slight under-tone of disappointment in her voice. Did she really think he knew her that little?

"Well, I better get back." Haley announced, watching Chris silently threaten to take her guitar and make it unplayable.

He tried not to frown, reminding himself he would see her tonight_. "Okay. Oh and one more thing." _Nathan announced, a devilish grin playing on his lips._ "What're you wearing?"_

She almost fell off her chair at the husky voice he asked her with and it took her a good moment to steady herself and to bay the throb of want between her thighs. "Nothing but my guitar." She replied breezily before hanging up, her bra felt tighter as she heard his groan before the call had ended. God, it was ridiculous what _just_ his voice could do to her. _A lot more than Dean's touch._

She shook her head, as if doing so would send the thoughts flying from her mind. Turning back around she was met with a smug smirk.

"Who was that?"

She gave him a pointed look, followed by the finger before picking up her guitar, ignoring his question.

"Oh." If possible his smirk grew wider and Haley's hands tingled with the urge to beat him to death with the instrument in her lap. "It was your _muse_. I _completely_ understand now."

He was met with another death glare but replied with a knowing chuckle, hitting the sound button as she strummed her guitar and muttering to himself. "She's completely gone."

Closing her eyes, Haley's heart raced as two blue ones stared back at her, her voice catching as she sang.

"_And I'll go, sit on the floor wearing your clothes__,  
All that I know is I don't know,  
how to be something you miss…"_

"…Never thought we'd have a last kiss,  
never imagined we'd end like this,  
your name; forever the name on my lips…"

.

.

.

Knocking on the varnished white door Haley then rocked back on her heels, her eyes flickering around the large expanse of the hotel hallway. _Only the best for Brooke Davis_, she thought with a fond smile.

Then the door was opened and Julian stood in front of her. A very sweaty, hardly clothed, _panting_ Julian.

The first thing that popped into her head was that Julian's usually perfect curls were drenched in sweat and in complete disarray.

Her second though was _ew_.

"Oh my God. I am _so_ sorry. Brooke told me to just come up I didn't think you'd be busy-I mean not that I _think_ about you being busy doing… _that_-God, I'm just gonna-"

"Hales?" Brooke's voice cut into her rambling, sounding a lot less out of breath than Julian.

Peaking through her fingers that had somehow crawled onto her face Haley found her best friend staring at her like she was wearing someone else's designs. Her un-sweaty, fully clothed and normally breathing best friend.

"It _is_ you." Brooke announced, pulling her boyfriend back by the shoulder so she could step in front of the partially opened door. "I didn't hear the door over the sound of Julian's _workout_ music." She rolled her eyes and the word with disgust. "Not that I think Cher can be classed as music you can exercise to. I mean the only reason she still looks as good-well, nearly as good as she did is because she's had more facelifts than Rachel Gatina." Her mind trailed for a millisecond at the thought of the face of her company then that hundred watt smile was back on her glossy lips.

"_Workout_ music." Haley finally found her voice, trying to ignore Julian who's knowing smirk was practically engraved on his mouth as she heard Cher singing about _walking in Memphis_.

"Yeah. Not that it's making much difference." Brooke grinned cheekily as her fingers pinched at his side.

"You wont be saying that when I'm ripped." Julian replied, making a show for them by pulling different 'muscle man' poses.

While Haley snorted with laughter, Brooke grabbed her handbag from the tiny table beside the door and patted her boyfriends cheek. "I'll probably have trouble speaking and still be waiting for you to get 'ripped'." She smiled sympathetically and kissed him quickly before quickly grabbing the dress bags and hooking them over her shoulder and then latching her other arm with Haley's and bouncing down the corridor, Haley bobbing along with her.

Julian gave a wave when Haley turned to quickly shout goodbye then he closed the door and walked back to the living room, deciding beer and chips sounded a lot better than an _all fours quad stretch. _

.

.

.

"This is not _Charlie's Cheesy Crust_." Clay announced as Nathan stopped the car outside a supermarket.

"No shit Sherlock, I thought you might have twigged on when we drove right past it." Nathan admitted. "And please never say that again." His face twisted in disgust, pulling on the handbrake.

"Hey, it's the best pizza in town." Clay quoted. "And I was promised a whole lot of it for free." He reminded.

"Well I have a few things I need to pick up first." Nathan told him, getting out of the car, the blonde scrambling after him.

"What for?" Clay complained, dragging his feet like a whiny child. "You made me help you get food two days ago."

"It's not for me. It's for my date with Haley tonight." He told him before walking-_more like strutting, _Clay thought-off down an aisle.

Clays eyes widened a little before he grinned, and slapped his hands together with a whooping laugh. "_That's_ what I'm talking about!"

.

.

.

"_Oh yeah? Well just wait until the next match, I'm going to blow your brains all over the ground."_

_Nathan raised an eyebrow as he walked into Haley's bedroom, finding her sitting on the edge of her bed, eyes fixed on the TV as she seemed to be speaking to herself._

_She scoffed, fingers moving over the play station controller he just noticed was pressed into her palms. _

_He almost laughed as he saw what she playing as he stretched out behind her, folding his arms behind his head, watching as she- as promised- shot someone right in the head. "Nice."_

_He wished he had a tape-recorded on him in that second as Haley jumped and half turned to find him lying on her bed, but she didn't take into account that her legs were folded beneath her and there wasn't a barrier to stop her from tumbling to the ground. _

_Haley lay on the floor, eyes blinking as she tried to remember what just happened. Nathan's head appeared above her, the only part of him that she could see but she didn't really mind considering he sent her _that_ grin. _

"_Watcha doin' down there?"_

"_Ha-ha." Haley deadpanned, accepting the hand he offered to pull her back onto the bed. "Didn't your mother teach you never to sneak up on people?" She growled out, bending down to pick up her controller before re-positioning herself on the bed. _

"_You're mean."_

_Haley scoffed, getting back into her PS3 game while replying. "I am not."_

"_Oh really? So that wasn't you I heard trash talking a few minutes ago?" He watched as she sent him a sheepish grin before her brow furrowed as someone killed her. _

"_Hey, it's not my fault. He started it." _

_Nathan watched as she fixed the headset that was attached to her ear and wanted to grinned at what a nerd she was. _

"_Ha!" She laughed evilly as the game ended, her score the highest. "See that Josh? That name at the top - oh yeah it's mine. And where's yours? It's so small I cant see it." She shrugged turned off the Playstation. "I think I heard crying. Or he ran off to tell his mom. Oh well." She shrugged again, bouncing on the bed and grinning down at the boy sprawled beside her. _

"_You are mean." Nathan said it like he had just discovered a Unicorn. "I knew I should have never let you play _Call Of Duty_."_

"_You were sleeping, I was bored." She replied as an explanation. _

_He pursed his lips. "It is kind of hot." He admitted, before smiling and flicking at the headset on her ear. "Except maybe for this."_

_She smacked his chest before removing it and throwing it on her nightstand, forgotten about. She traced her fingers over the lines of his stomach as he closed his eyes, letting her touch pulse through his body. _

_Nathan cracked an eye open, feeling like she was distracted. "You want to play it, don't you?"_

_Haley's cheeks flushed and she giggled. "Of course not."_

_Nathan pulled her down on so she was lying beside him and less than a second later she was pinned beneath him as he sat with his knees on either side of her stomach, pinning her to the duvet. "You'd really rather play a video game than lets say…" He pressed his lips to her jaw line. "Me?"_

_Haley managed to get her arms free and ran her fingers through his thick hair, grinning up at him like a fool. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing in this moment than you."_

_Nathan smirked dirtily, giving her a sexy wink before his face was lost somewhere at her neck, his words vibrating onto her skin. "Now _that's_ what I'm talking about."_

.

.

.

"Okay, so what I don't get is _why_ you're helping me get ready for this meal with Nathan, when you seem _so_ dead against it." Haley announced, folding herself onto her king-size bed, her body thrumming in thanks as it sank into the mattress. "Which I also don't get." As she received the _Brooke Davis; I'm head bitch eyebrow _she sighed. "Okay so maybe I _kinda_ do, but it's nothing to get all stressed out about. We're _frie-nds_. Friends have dinner."

"First of all you plus Nathan does not equal friends. It equals a ridiculous amount of eye-boning and you both give off so much unrequited lust it makes _me_ horny." Brooke fluffed out her hair from her position on the floor before unzipping the long grey bag in-front of her. "You have never been just friends. And Nathan definitely does not want to just be friends. Unless you add _with benefits _to the end of it. And-" she cut in before Haley could interrupt. "-I am helping you get ready because I want you to look absolutely out of this world and make him fall to his knees at the thought of ever walking away from you again." She grinned brightly at the wide-eyed brunette atop the bed. "Now, what about this?"

Haley pursed her lips at the long silver, backless dress her friend held up. "It's dinner. _Not_ The Oscars."

Brooke ran a manicured nail down the dipped front, the sparkles dancing in the hotel room lighting. "It's so pretty."

"Too much."

Pouting and mumbling to herself about _no taste singers _she slowly took out another one; making her friends eyes bulge.

"No."

Brooke's perfectly painted lips formed a shocked 'o'. "What? His jaw will literally hit the ground."

"Yeah. And the hem will barely cover my belly button." Haley replied, taking in the shorter than short crimson dress that looked more like a corset.

"Just try it on." Brooke pleaded. "Imagine strutting up to him in your six inch heels-"

"-I can barely walk in flats-"

"He would _die_."

"No_, I _would already be dead from falling over and breaking my neck." Haley told her, sitting up and folding her legs. "Next."

.

.

.

With one eye closed Haley carefully put the last pin in her hair, her bangs successfully staying in place in a casual quiff, the rest of her brunette locks flowing naturally.

After Brooke had pulled out a dress that looked like what you would wear if you were getting married Haley had kicked her out, with much promising of not sleeping with Nathan or wearing jeans.

She'd already broken her second promise, she thought whilst tucking her boots underneath her Levis.

As she looked up in the mirror to check her make-up (not that she cared what he thought) she swore to herself she would not break her first one.

The knock at the door startled her but she rolled her eyes. "Brooke I swear if that's you I will burn _all_ of your shoes." She promised, stomach fluttering with the thought of who else it could be. She knew how spontaneous he could be and Nathan just loved surprising her.

"Jerk." She muttered, ignoring the smile curving her lips.

Opening the door she found neither person on the other side.

"Dean." Her brow furrowed, shock lacing her voice completely. "What're you doing here?"

.

.

.

Okay not sure at _all_ if it feels right to stop here or not. Oh and also, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! Sorry it took so long to get this up. But better late than never right? I didn't re-read, i'm sorry but I'm just sick of looking at it and it's finally finished so i just wanted to post for you all(: Thank you so much for the friggin' reviews guys, you're all AWESOME!

Song used was _Last Kiss _by **Taylor Swift**.

Quote from _**Dawson's Creek**_.


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